How Demi Lovato's Tattoos Express her Strength and Struggles

Posted by Martina Birk on Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Demi Lovato has used her tattoos as a way to express her inner strength and how she overcame her struggles. Here's a guide to each tattoo.

Source: getty

Singer Demi Lovato is no stranger to a tattoo gun. The songstress has over 20 known tattoos to date, the most recent one having been added shortly before the new year. Let's take a look at her most prominent ones and their inspirational meanings

Divine Feminine

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For the incredible @ddlovato ๐Ÿ’– โ€œDivine Feminineโ€ โœจ Destruction Effect ๐—๐•๐ˆ๐ˆ๐ˆ We created this piece together to represent a rebirth of the spirit. The dark wings represent the bad times, their fading away is how she moved forward. The light from within represents the inner strength necessary for the change and the doves, pulling her up, symbolize the reach of an higher state of consciousness. Congratulations on your inspiring journey Demi, honored to have represented this for you.

A post shared by ALESSANDRO CAPOZZI (@alessandro_capozzi) on Dec 24, 2019 at 10:42am PST

At the end of December 2019, Demi added an upper back tattoo to her collection. Captioning it "Divine Feminine", her tattoo artist, Alessandro Capozzi, said the woman being lifted up by the bird was meant to represent a "rebirth of the spirit".

"Survivor"

Source: instagram

Demi had this tattooed on her neck in script, as a reminder of where she came from and what she's been through.

"T"

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A T for Tommy. RIP you special angel. Love you forever @sirtruss ๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ’” thank you for the ink @rafael_valdez.. itโ€™s beautiful and Iโ€™m so grateful for this ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please do not hesitate to ask for help. Please call 877.921.9653

A post shared by Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) on Oct 14, 2019 at 10:06pm PDT

Model Thomas Trussell was a close friend of Demi's and he passed away in October 2019 from a drug overdose. She got a "T" tattooed on her forearm in his honor shortly after his death.

Mimaw's photograph

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This is for you Mimaw. You at 26 on my arm while Iโ€™m 26, and forever. I love you more. โค๏ธ Thank you @_dr_woo_ for making her come back to life for me.. itโ€™s stunning and the most meaningful tattoo I have ever gotten. ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ

A post shared by Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) on May 16, 2019 at 1:37am PDT

For her grandmother, Demi had her Mimaw's photo from when she was 26 tattooed onto her forearm. She added to her collection when she was 26.

"Me" (and a smiley face)

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Me first ๐Ÿ–ค thank you @winterstone for my new forever reminder.. #i๐Ÿ–คme

A post shared by Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) on Jun 27, 2019 at 7:34pm PDT

Demi had the word "me" tattooed on the inside of her ring finger as a reminder to put herself first. And, yes, that is a tattoo of a smiley face on her pinkie. No hidden meaning though. She just wanted to tattoo her pinkie. Similarly, she also has a feather behind her ear that she says also has no meaning.

Roses on her finger and on her forearm

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Hi ๐ŸŒน

A post shared by Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) on Mar 6, 2019 at 12:38pm PST

Demi actually has multiple rose tattoos. The first is the larger rose that's on her forearm. That was a coverup for a kiss tattoo that she used to have. The kiss was based on her friend Ivey Ensley's lips, but Demi was never happy with how it came out. But the rose on her finger has a bit of a deeper meaning. She got it in honor of six months of sobriety.

"You make me beautiful" dreamcatcher

Source: instagram

Demi originally got "you make me beautiful" tattooed on her ribcage in honor of her favorite Bethany Dillon song, โ€œBeautiful,โ€ which she considers to be a song that inspires her to love, both others and herself, and to have faith. Over time, she's changed the piece from the original lyrics alone to include a full dreamcatcher around it. 

Lion covering her hand

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@ddlovato sometimes the canvas makes the art ;) Thank you for your trust

A post shared by Bang Bang Tattoo (@bangbangnyc) on Apr 25, 2017 at 11:46pm PDT

The singer's "Lionheart" might contain some clues about this particular tattoo. The song is about find strength in yourself and the love that surrounds you. It seems likely that the artwork reflects the meaning of the song.

"Stay Strong"

Source: MTV

Demi's wrists read "stay" and "strong". They were among her first tattoos and they were added to cover up self-harm scars, as well as be a reminder to her to remain strong in the face of any obstacle.

Flock of birds and "faith"

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world tour ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ @ddlovato

A post shared by ANGELO KRITIKOS (@angelokritikos) on Jun 6, 2018 at 2:24pm PDT

When Demi originally got the birds, it was added to an existing tattoo of "faith" and it was meant to symbolize freedom. However, it took on a new meaning when Demi entered Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous. The flock included 12 birds, like the 12 steps of NA and AA.

Roman numerals

Source: instagram

Demi has two different roman numeral tattoos. She has "III" near her wrist. It was in honor of her father after he passed away. Three was his favorite number. She also has the birthdays of her mom, her two sisters, her step dad and her biological dad in roman numerals on her ribs.

"Free", "Peace" and "Rock N Roll"

Source: instagram

Demi has "free", "peace" and "rock n roll" tattooed on her fingers. She got "free" when she was on tour in 2018 and a lot of her team members got it as well. It was a bonding experience for them to commemorate the tour. She got "peace" and "rock n roll" added later, but she actually thinks she will get the "rock n roll" one removed one day.

"Now I'm a warrior"

Source: getty

This phrase is actually from one of Demi's own songs. It symbolizes her ability to grow from her struggles and turn a negative into a positive.

Cross on her hand and "Let Go" and "Let God" on her feet

Source: getty

The devout Christian has a cross on her hand to remind her of her faith, as well as these two phrases on her feet.

Africa's outline

Source: getty

Demi has a small map of Africa on the inside of her elbow. It's very hard to see, but it's in honor of spending her 21st birthday doing charity work in Kenya.

"Buddy was here"

Source: instagram

The 27-year-old had an image of her dog and the words, "Buddy was here", tattooed underneath it in memory of her dog who passed away.

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