Fans now have 29 more reasons to speculate.
Nearly two weeks after a clip from her song, "29," went viral, Demi Lovato dropped the official lyric video for her latest single on Aug. 17. The snippet from the singer's track, which began circulating in early August, had social media buzzing since fans have speculated her single referred to her ex Wilmer Valderrama. (Demi, 29, split from the 42-year-old actor in 2016 after nearly six years of dating. The two first met in 2010).
Lyrics from the song included, "Far from innocent / what the f--k's consent? / Numbers told you not to / but that didn't stop you." Elsewhere, Demi sings, "I see you're quite the collector / Yeah you're 12 years her elder/ Maybe now it doesn't matter / But I know f--king better."
After the lyric video's debut, fans reacted to hearing the song in full online, with one person tweeting, "I simply would like 29 by Demi Lovato to receive all the awards. That song is so powerful."
Another wrote, "I just wanna say how proud i am of demi over 29. Not only her coming to terms with that situation and seeing it for what it all was, but writing a song about it, putting it on her album and singing it at her first show back in 4 years." A third user speculated that Demi was also referring to Wilmer's fiancée, Amanda Pacheco, 30, and their age difference within her lyrics, writing, "So this is what Demi meant in 29 by saying he's a collector."
Prior to their split, Demi recalled first meeting the actor when the two shot a PSA together in 2010.
"I was like, ‘Oh my god. You're so attractive,'" she told Complex in 2015. "And he was like, ‘You are not 18. Get away from me.' Then we became really good friends, and he was there for me through a number of situations and breakups and whatever. Then as I got older and we grew closer, it was like, ‘Hey, maybe we should try this thing out.' We did, and we've basically been together ever since.'"
The "Skin of My Teeth" singer further elaborated on their first meeting in her 2017 documentary, Simply Complicated.
"I didn't really care about the census forms," she shared, referring to the PSA they worked on together. "But [when] I met him and I laid eyes on him for the first time, I was in hair and makeup, and he came in and sat down and I was like 'I love this man,' and 'I have to have him.'" Demi also went on to reiterate that he told her to "get away" because of her age.
Following their breakup, both Demi and Wilmer have moved on to respective relationships. Wilmer and Amanda, who have been linked together since 2019, welcomed their first daughter together in February 2021, while Demi recently started dating a musician. A source told E! News in early August that the Camp Rock alum was "very happy and in a great place."