Demi Lovato Bonds with Keke Palmer Over Having Inappropriate Relationships with Adult Men as Teens: 'That's Not Okay'

Jack IrvinTue, March 3, 2026 at 10:40 PM UTC

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Demi Lovato and Keke PalmerCredit: Baby, This is Keke Palmer/Youtube -

Demi Lovato appeared on the latest episode of the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast

She bonded with the host over a shared experience of being in relationships with adult men as teenagers

"But then you look back in hindsight. When I turned 30, I was like, that's not okay," said Lovato

Demi Lovato and Keke Palmer are looking back on their teenage years with a new perspective.

Lovato, 33, appeared on the latest episode of the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast and bonded with the host, 32, over a shared experience of being in relationships with adult men as teenagers.

The topic arose as they looked back on their pasts as child performers. "For me I actually was like, if you're going to I had this like mantra that was like if you're going to work me like an adult, I'm going to party like an adult. And I got into some bad stuff at a young age and that's when I started like self-medicating," said Lovato, who's long been open about her history with substance abuse. "I wish that, you know, I had stayed more focused."

"Obviously, I think the course of my life would have gone in a different direction, meaning like I wouldn't have maybe struggled as much with substances later down the road, but everything happens for a reason," added the "Confident" singer. "I'm sitting here in this state of mind today, like, grateful for everything that I've been through. It was really challenging. There wasn't a lot of time for play, but when I did, I played pretty hard."

Palmer then brought up her romantic past and said, "I feel like people don't understand that that's what we was dealing with, you know? I found myself dating. I'm 15. Why is my boyfriend 20?"

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Lovato replied, "Why was my boyfriend 30? You know what I’m saying?"

Both stars spoke about coming to a realization about the inappropriate nature of their respective relationships. "But then you look back in hindsight. When I turned 30, I was like, that's not okay," said Lovato, who released a song called "29" in 2023 with lyrics about a past age-gap relationship.

"Girl, the moment when you realize, and you get [to] the age of a lot of people that were around you and doing stuff, it’s almost a mental break that can happen because you realize you were taken advantage of," said Palmer. "Oh, I was being exploited. That was very difficult for me ‘cause at 15 I'm thinking my boyfriend's older because I'm doing an older job, and I'm doing a bunch of things, and this is the way that it is, and it seemed normal in my mind."

Demi Lovato in January 2026Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty

"Especially if you’re an older soul, too," said Lovato. "Especially if you’re mature for your age."

Palmer then praised Hilary Duff's recent single "Mature," which reflects on an inappropriate age-gap relationship through its lyrics. "I love the Hilary Duff song that came out because it’s like, ‘Oh s---.’ We all had the same damn life," said the Burbs star.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”