Demi Lovato was so worried about being judged for gaining weight that she considered not going on stage before her recent tour. But when she finally performed, the audience's reaction challenged her fears and offered an unexpected lesson about body image.

The 34-year-old singer opened up about the experience during an appearance on Kerry Washington's Street You Grew Up On podcast, released on 14 October. Lovato explained that she had put on weight before her It's Not That Deep tour and became anxious about how fans might react to her appearance.

'I had put on a little weight before the tour, and I was stressed,' Lovato recalled. 'I was like, "I don't want to go on stage. I'm terrified. People are ... They are going to say things. They're going to write online."'

Despite her anxiety, Lovato decided to perform.

'I went onstage anyways. No one turned around. No one got up out of their seats and said, "She's not a size 0." They still loved me and cried tears of joy when I sang for them,' she said.

Lovato described the experience as a significant lesson, particularly given her longstanding struggles with body image and disordered eating.

Demi Lovato Says Eating Disorder Recovery Is Ongoing

Although the audience's response helped challenge her assumptions, Lovato made clear that she does not consider herself fully recovered from her eating disorder.

'I've been to treatment several times,' she told Washington. 'I can say that today, I'm not in a place where I look at myself as fully healed.'

She added that complete recovery was not necessarily a goal she expected to reach.

'I think that food is going to be a battle for the rest of my life, but it's a manageable battle,' Lovato said.

The singer also explained that cooking had helped her develop a healthier relationship with food. Her relationship with her body has improved, too, although acceptance does not come easily every day.

'Some days I don't love my body, but there are days where I accept it,' she said. 'I would say I live in a place of acceptance now. Where I don't look in the mirror and berate myself for having curves.'

Her comments highlight that recovery does not always mean feeling confident about one's body at all times. For some people, progress involves learning to manage difficult thoughts and behaviours without allowing them to dictate everyday life.

How Demi Lovato Is Learning to Accept Her Body

Lovato's experience also illustrates how fear of public judgement can affect people who have struggled with eating disorders, particularly when their appearance is regularly scrutinised.

The singer has previously spoken about the pressures of growing up in the entertainment industry and the effect that public commentary about weight can have on body image. Her experience suggests that a supportive audience can help challenge body-image fears, even if those fears do not disappear entirely.

However, Lovato said she had become better at recognising that her worth was not determined by her appearance.

'I'm 34. My worth isn't in my body,' she said, adding that her husband, musician Jordan 'Jutes' Lutes, and her family loved her for reasons beyond how she looked.