Demi Lovato Says ‘Cool for the Summer’ Is About Hooking Up With a Famous Woman

Demi Lovato can keep a secret …especially when it comes to the inspiration behind her song, “Cool For the Summer.”

During a recent interview with The Howard Stern Show, the 31-year-old singer opened up about her 2015 hit single, which sent the world buzzing with lyrics about kissing a woman. 

The lyrics are up for interpretation, and Lovato won’t be sharing who exactly she’s singing about. However, she did give a hint. 

When asked by Stern if it’s about a woman named “Susan,” Lovato laughed, and admitted, “No, it’s not Susan. Sometimes I write songs and just let them be.” 

When pressed about if the song is about someone famous, Lovato revealed, “What if it is? Yeah.” 

After Stern further prompted her to reveal who “Cool For the Summer” is about, Lovato said that it wouldn’t be right to share, as she herself is currently in a relationship.

“I’m in a relationship now and I feel like that would be inappropriate,” the “Confident” singer shared, referring to her romance with Jutes, who she’s been seeing since 2022. “I missed the moment. I should have said it back then.”

Still, Lovato knows people are going to continue guessing. “People are gonna wonder now,” she quipped.

Speaking about the timeframe of the single, Lovato revealed that it was released before she officially came out as bisexual. Following the success, she decided to come out to her parents, whom she said were very accepting and already knew. 

“I actually released it before I came out as bisexual at the time,” she told Stern. “I just grew up in a Christian home and was kind of traumatized in that area and didn’t want to come out. When I came out, my dad was like ‘Yeah, you have a song called ‘Cool For The Summer.’ Like, it’s obvious.'”

As for her mother’s reaction, “She was just like, ‘I just want you to be happy.’ and I was like, ‘Wow.'” 

During her conversation with Stern, Lovato also opened up about her past relationships with older men. 

“I think what I went through is that I had a phase of dating older men and dating older guys,” Lovato shared. “I went through a phase when I was attracted to older guys because of my daddy issues, obviously.”

While she didn’t address him by name, Lovato had a public relationship with That ’70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama from 2010-16. The pair met when Lovato was 17 and Valderrama was 29, though they reportedly didn’t begin dating until she turned 18. The relationship is also rumored to be the inspiration for Lovato’s fiery 2022 single, “29.”

“For me, I was a teenager. And so to me, that’s gross,” the singer told Stern. “If you are 50 and 60, you’re fine. 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 added that she feels she’s since resolved her daddy issues and feels confident in her relationship with boyfriend Jutes, who is a year her senior.

“I’m with a partner that is my age, essentially. I look back on the past and think, ‘That’s gross,'” she reflected of her past relationships.

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