Demi Lovato rips into older ex-boyfriend in scathing new song: ‘Far from innocent’

Wilmer Valderrama and Demi Lovato

Fans think Demi Lovato’s new song “29” is a take-down of her ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama.

The pop star started That ’70s Show actor Valderrama in 2010 when they was 18 and he was 29.

They continued an on-off relationship before parting ways in 2016, and Lovato appears to have finally addressed the split on their latest album Holy Fvck, six years later.

Lovato sings on the track “29”: “Petal on the vine / Too young to drink wine / Just five years a bleeder / Student and a teacher.

“Far from innocent / What the f**k’s consent? / Numbers told you not to / But that didn’t stop you.”

Referencing how she is now the same age Valderrama was when the relationship began, Lovato makes things even more obvious later in the song, singing: “Finally 29 / 17 would never cross my mind / Thought it was a teenage dream a fantasy / But it was yours it wasn’t mine.”

Demi Lovato and Wilmer Valderrama

Demi Lovato (L) and actor Wilmer Valderrama attend The 58th GRAMMY Awards. (Lester Cohen/WireImage)

In a recent interview with Apple Music, Demi Lovato reflected on their time in rehab and how that experience informed this latest album. 

“When I came out [of treatment] I had all this all unresolved trauma that I hadn’t dealt with. When I was making the album in the first week I had a lot of anger and it showed in a lot of the songs,” she said.

When asked about their trauma over experiences with older men, they said: “When I turned 29, I remember I was on vacation, and I just realised I’m 29 now, and it put things into perspective. It put everything into perspective.

“And I’m very careful with the way that I answer these questions because I feel like the song says it all.

“Turning 29 was a huge eye-opener for me and then going into treatment and having realisations led to my transformation, my release of the emotion that was put into this song. 

Lovato previously spoke about her relationship with Valderrama in 2017 documentary Simply Complicated, saying: “I met him on January 11, 2010, I thought, ‘I have to have him,’ but I was only 17 and he was like, ‘Get away from me’, due to the age difference.

“When I turned 18 we started dating, I think it was love at first sight, we connected on a level that I’ve never connected with anybody before, he was just my rock, my everything.”
Lovato recently shared that she is using she/her pronouns again, as well as they/them pronouns.