Singer looked stunning in a very low-cut red Lanvin at the Emmys 2014

Aug 27, 2014 17:55 GMT  ·  By

One of the most stunning appearances on the red carpet at Monday’s Emmy Awards 2014 was Demi Lovato, who donned a beautiful, red Lavin dress with a very deep cleavage and a thigh-high slit. Seeing photos of herself in that dress has made Demi understand how many years she’d spent feeling “ashamed” of her body.

The former Disney star has been very open about her struggles related to body image and the eating disorders she developed because she was convinced she had to be at her skinniest possible to be loved, to be “perfect.”

In 2010, she entered rehab to get help for physical and emotional issues, and once she completed the program, she became a “spokesperson” on issues like bullying, real beauty, eating disorders, self-harming and addiction.

Demi has come a very long way in recent years, and she’s finally ready to embrace her body as beautiful: and nowhere was that more apparent than in the way she worked the hell out of that red gown.

After the Emmys, Demi posted on Instagram a collage of older photos of herself on other red carpets, including one in which she’s wearing a bodycon / bandage dress, with her hip bones clearly protruding from under the fabric. She says that dress is a painful memory to her now.

“This picture makes me feel so many mixed emotions.. I remember the day I wore the dress in the very first picture. I remember asking for spanx to flatten my stomach because I use to feel so heavy and ‘fat’,” she writes in the caption to the photo, which you will also find below.

“Now looking at this picture, you can clearly see my hip bones. It makes me sad because I wasted so many years ashamed of my body when I could've been living the happy and healthy life I live today. It TRULY just goes to show you that your perceptions can lie to you. OR they can make you learn to enjoy life,” Demi continues.

She’s happy to put that in the past. “Fortunately looking at the picture of myself in the red dress yesterday, I not only feel so grateful for the love and support I've had from fans, friends and family, but... I also feel.. beautiful. I'm so excited to live my life the way I deserve to and to the complete fullest. Thank you guys once again.. I'm so thankful for my Lovatics. I love you... And never forget that staying strong is worth it,” Demi concludes.

Words to live by, most definitely.