Demi Lovato spotted for first time since drug overdose and rehab

Demi Lovatowas spotted for the first time since she was hospitalized and went to rehab following an almost-fatal drug overdose in July.

The “Sorry Not Sorry” singer was seen on Sunday, September 23, in a photo posted by TMZ. Lovato wore an olive-green shirt, black leggings, white sneakers and a black cap as she held a large coffee and chatted to a woman walking a dog.

As previously reported, the Disney Channel alum, 25, was hospitalized in L.A. on July 24 after paramedics who were called to her home found her unconscious. A source told Us Weekly that Narcan, which is used to treat narcotic overdoses, was administered to Lovato.

Her overdose came a month after the singer revealed in her new single, “Sober,” that she had relapsed after six years of sobriety. Lovato, who has been open about her struggles with addiction, bipolar and an eating disorder, first checked into rehab in 2010 at the age of 18 and entered a sober house for about a year in 2013.

She headed straight to a long-term rehab facility after leaving the hospital at the beginning of August, with an insider telling Us Weekly that she “knows she needs to finally get serious help.”

Lovato broke her silence on August 5, posting a message to fans on Instagram.

“I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction. What I’ve learned is that this illness is not something that disappears or fades with time. It is something I must continue to overcome and have not done yet,” she wrote. “I want to thank God for keeping me alive and well. To my fans, I am forever grateful for all of your love and support throughout this past week and beyond. Your positive thoughts and prayers have helped me navigate through this difficult time. I want to thank my family, my team, and the staff at Cedars-Sinai who have been by my side this entire time. Without them I wouldn’t be here writing this letter to all of you.”

“I now need time to heal and focus on my sobriety and road to recovery,” she concluded. “The love you have all shown me will never be forgotten and I look forward to the day where I can say I came out on the other side. I will keep fighting.”

Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza, spoke about her daughter’s life-threatening incident in an interview with Newsmax TV on September 18, admitting her “heart dropped” when she got the news from Lovato’s assistant.

“She said Demi overdosed. So I was in shock. I didn’t know what to say. It was something I never, ever expected to hear as a parent about any of my kids,” she said. “I said, ‘Is she OK?’ And she stopped for a second and she said, ‘She’s conscious, but she’s not talking.’ I knew at that point that we were in trouble.”

The Falling With Wings author, 56, admitted, “We just didn’t know for two days if she was going to make it or not.”

De La Garza said that Lovato is “doing really well now,” adding that “she’s happy, she’s healthy, she’s working on her sobriety, and she’s getting the help she needs.”