Demi Lovato has a long history of talking about her “daddy issues.” The 31-year-old even has a song dedicated to the term: “I got all these daddy issues / What can I do? / I'm going crazy when I'm with you / Forget all the therapy that I've been through.” But on Sept. 11, Lovato (who uses both she/her and they/them pronouns) confirmed that she no longer has a taste for older guys. Recalling her teenage romances on The Howard Stern Show, Lovato called that kind of age gap “gross,” citing her “daddy issues” as the reason for her dating choices.
“I went through a phase when I was attracted to older guys because of my daddy issues, obviously," Lovato told Stern, per Insider. The singer famously dated That ‘70s Show actor Wilmer Valderrama from 2010 to 2016. The two met when Lovato was 17, and he was 29 — and that 12-year age gap likely inspired her single “29.” But Lovato, who has been publicly dating fellow musician Jute$ since August 2022, is no longer interested in older men. “I can say with confidence that my daddy issues aren’t anything that are inside of me anymore,” they added.
Though Lovato’s “daddy issues” may be in the past, she was willing to discuss them with Stern. "For me, I was a teenager. And so to me, that's gross. If you are 50 and 60, you're fine," they explained. "Even 30 and 40, that's not gross at all. But, I think, that when you're in those development years, you should absolutely not be with somebody that is older than you by that much. It's just unhealthy and toxic."
Lovato opened up about her current romance with Jute$, whose real name is Jordan Lutes. "Now I'm at a place where I'm in an amazing relationship and my boyfriend is a year older than me. We're growing together and it feels so healthy," they said.
“There’s this partnership there that is just so magnetic, and the way that we laugh together. It’s just nonstop,” they explained. “I think if you can find someone that makes you feel safe, that you’re so attracted to, that you laugh with constantly, that’s the formula of a really great relationship.”
Lovato added that she hopes to marry Jute$ and “definitely” wants children, per Billboard.
