Demi Lovato’s personal development coach: ‘I saw a light in her’

The man Demi Lovato credits with saving her life is opening up about helping her through her substance abuse and mental health issues to become the unapologetically Confident role model she is today.

Personal development coach Mike Bayer admitted the pop star was a “tough client” who went through 23 different sober companions in two years Tuesday on Conversations with Maria Menounos.

“I think she saved her own life. I appreciate being credited to that — I’m a strategist. I’ll look at an entertainer’s team, I’ll look at 30 pieces on their team, it’s really how do you help someone grow authentically,” he said. “I think the great thing is I don’t care if I’m fired, I don’t care if they pay me. I mean, it’s a job, but this is naturally who I am, so I think artists feel really safe with me and realize that I don’t have some ulterior motive. I think humans are all the same. I think a lot of people in my position don’t view entertainers that way.”

And with Lovato, “I didn’t give up, because I saw a light inside of her. I saw a tormented girl who needed someone in her life to say no,” he continued. “I mean, we must have gotten into a hundred arguments.”

Bayer said he helped her cope by showing her the silly side of life — including jokingly flaunting his own body for the Body Say singer.

“I work in a very unorthodox way, so if we’re at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show or we’re in St. Barts and she’s feeling insecure, I may suddenly walk down the hallway naked,” he said. “And I don’t care. But most people in the psychology or mental health world would be like oh that’s inappropriate. No, it just depends on the client you’re working with.”

Conversations with Maria Menounos airs live weekdays at 1 p.m. ET on SiriusXM Stars (Ch. 109).

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