Demi Lovato Celebrates 'Body Confidence' While Filming Their First-Ever Sex Scene

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What's wrong with being confident?

Demi Lovato has struggled with their body image for years, but the 28-year-old singer had a major body confidence milestone on Tuesday when they filmed their first-ever sex scene for their upcoming TV series Hungry. Lovato, however, was quick to admit that the task at hand wasn't easy.

"Had to film a sex scene today. My first one! I had a little anxiety going into it but the cast and crew were so professional and easy to work with, it calmed me down immediately," they wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture in which they're posing in black lingerie. "Then, I thought about how proud I am for being able to feel comfortable enough in my skin to do that. I rarely ever showed my arms before.. now I'm in this!! (Granted, it barely shows anything BUT STILL)." (Related: Demi Lovato Thanked 'Queen' Lizzo for Correcting a Paparazzo After Misgendering Them)

Lovato continued in the caption to explain that while they sometimes struggle with being in the skin they're in, on Tuesday specifically, they wanted to share their "random burst of body confidence" on social media.

"I don't always feel good in my skin, so when I do, AND I feel sexy enough to post - I do just that!" they added. "It's important to celebrate the little wins. Yay for this random burst of body confidence and yay for awkward hilarious sex."

In April 2021, Deadline announced that NBC had handed out pilot orders for Hungry, with Lovato serving as both the star and executive producer. They'll appear as Teddy, a food stylist who struggles with dating and maintaining a healthy relationship with food, according to Deadline. Valerie Bertinelli will also star as Teddy's mother Lisa, a restaurant owner who has endured her own struggles with food.

Demi Lovato celebrates 'body confidence' after filming their first sex scene
Demi Lovato celebrates 'body confidence' after filming their first sex scene

Getty Images

A month later in May 2021, Lovato admitted they still face challenges as part of their eating disorder recovery. They took to Instagram at the time and posted a mug emblazoned with the words, "I am worth it," along with the recovery symbol and the recovery symbol from the National Eating Disorders Association.

"I painted this at @colormemine years ago.. even though I was in the throes of my eating disorder, I still made this in hopes that I would truly believe it some day [sic]. I still struggle. Daily," wrote Lovato. "There are periods of time where I forget about my food struggles and other times it's all I think about. Still."

"But that is what ED recovery looks like for some people and I still have hope that someday I won't think about it anymore," they continued. "For now my mug reminds me that I am worth it, and today I believe it."

Lovato also addressed their eating disorder recovery on their 2021 album, Dancing With the Devil...The Art of Starting Over. Their song "Melon Cake" celebrates having actual birthday cakes, not watermelon, to mark their trips around the sun. And in February 2020, Lovato discussed their exercise addiction with Ashley Graham on the model's Pretty Big Deal podcast.

"I thought the past few years was [my] recovery from an eating disorder when it actually was just [me] completely falling into it," said Lovato. "And I just realized that maybe my symptoms weren't as obvious as before, but it was definitely an eating issue."

Lovato recalled throwing themself into exercise believing they were recovering from their battle with bulimia when it was the opposite.

"I honestly think that's kind of what led to everything happening over the past years, just like me thinking I found recovery when I didn't," said Lovato, who recently came out as non-binary. "And then living this kind of lie trying to tell the world I was happy with myself when I wasn't." (Related: Demi Lovato Opens Up About Getting Misgendered Since Changing Their Pronouns)

Though Lovato is taking life one day at a time, as they stated Tuesday on Instagram, they clearly know the importance of "celebrat[ing] the little wins" and, even for the moment, being confident with oneself. And that, dear readers, is no small feat — be it during a lingerie-clad sex scene or a Saturday night spent in sweatpants watching Netflix.

If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237, talk with someone at myneda.org/helpline-chat, or text NEDA to 741-741 or go to NationalEatingDisorders.org.