Demi Lovato Reveals New Tattoo After Friend Dies From Reported Drug Overdose

Demi Lovato revealed a new tattoo on Monday night, in honor of her late friend Thomas. Thomas passed away recently, apparently as a result of drug addiction, and Lovato is heartbroken. Now her friend’s memory is forever stamped on her forearm.

Lovato’s new tattoo is a thin letter “T” written in fine script. It appears to be set on her inner forearm, close to the elbow. It is right above the large, ornate rose tattoo she got back in 2015.

“A T for Tommy,” Lovato wrote. “RIP you special angel. Love you forever [Thomas].”

Lovato included a black heart emoji and a broken red heart emoji. She gave a shout-out to her tattoo artist as well, with some prayer-hand emojis.

“Thank you for the ink [Rafael Valdez],” she wrote. “It’s beautiful and I’m so grateful for this.”

Lovato had previously clued fans in on her recent loss on her Instagram Stories. The singer posted a photo of Thomas at the time, implying that he suffered from addiction, much like her.

“Addiction is NO joke.. heaven gained this beautiful angel last night because of that terrible disease,” she wrote. “I’m crushed and will always miss you [Thomas].”

“Devastated. Please hold your loved ones tight,” she continued, addressing fans. “Tell them they are special and that you love them. Make sure they know it. RIP to my boo [Thomas].”

Lovato has been struggling with addiction for years, and she has never been shy about discussing it. The singer has been back and forth to rehab, suffered through relapses and gotten into trouble with the law.

For Lovato, addiction is intertwined with other issues including an eating disorder and depression. She first entered rehab in 2010 at the age of 18, after she punched a backup dancer on the Jonas Brothers Live in Concert tour. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, bulimia and addiction, admitting that she was “self-medicating” with drugs and alcohol, including cocaine.

Lovato came back from the struggles with a vengeance. She wrote about her struggles in Seventeen Magazine, starred in a documentary about her recovery and stayed in a sober-living facility through 2013. Lovato even celebrated six years of sobriety in 2016, however, she soon came clean that that was not entirely true.

Lovato was ultimately praised for her honesty, since she risked everything to own up to her mistakes. Last year, she suffered yet another relapse in July, resulting in hospitalization. Lovato used oxycodone that had been laced with fentanyl without her knowledge, and she overdosed. She returned to rehab, and has been building herself back up ever since.

Obviously, the loss of a friend has hit close to home for Lovato, so fans have been sending her well-wishes all week.