Demi Lovato criticises her relationship with 30-year-old when she was a teen

Demi Lovato has reflected on her past relationships and questioned why she dated a 30-year-old when she was a teenager.

The 33-year-old singer issued the remarks during her appearance on the latest episode of the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast, which dropped on Tuesday (3 March).

She didn't mention anyone by name, but opened up about a relationship with a 30-year-old boyfriend when she was a teen.

During their chat, Lovato and Host Palmer were discussing entering the entertainment industry as children and the challenges that brought.

The Disney Channel star said, "I'm sitting here in this state of mind today, like, grateful for everything that I've been through. It was really challenging. There wasn't a lot of time for play, but when I did, I played pretty hard."

For those who need a reminder, Lovato rose to fame as a teen in 2008 thanks to her starring role as Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock, alongside the Jonas Brothers.

Demi Lovato condemned the past relationship during her appearance on Keke Palmer's podcast (YouTube/Baby, This is Keke Palmer)

This prompted Palmer, 32, to chime in with: "I feel like people don't understand that that's what we was dealing with, you know? I found myself dating. I'm 15. Why is my boyfriend 20?"

Palmer also broke into the industry as a child star, gaining recognition at just 10 years old after starring in Barbershop 2: Back in Business.

Lovato said on the podcast: " 'Why was my boyfriend 30? You know what I'm saying?"

While, as we say, he wasn't named, some fans have put two and two together and guessed that she's likely speaking about her ex, American actor Wilmer Valderrama, whom she dated when she was 18 and 30.

Reflecting on why they both had the experience of dating older men, Palmer suggested: "We were trying to find outlets and just a way to process this and nobody our age..."

To which Lovato jumped in with, "Could understand! Nobody our age could understand. But then you look back in hindsight, when I turned 30, I was like, that's not okay."

Palmer discussed the 'moment that you realize' and you 'get to the age that a lot of people that were around you and doing stuff'.

"It's almost a mental break that can happen because you realize you were taken advantage of. Oh, I was being exploited," she explained.

Although she didn't name names, it's thought that Lovato was referring to Wilmer Valderrama, who she dated when she was 18 and he was 30 (Jeff Vespa/Getty Images for Topshop Topman)

The Nope actress added: "That was very difficult for me because at 15 I'm thinking my boyfriend's older because I'm doing an older job, and I'm doing a bunch of things, and this is the way that it is, and it seemed normal in my mind."

And Lovato agreed: "Especially if you are an older soul, too. Especially if you're mature for your age."

The singer has previously spoken about her relationship with Valderrama, describing it as 'love at first sight' for her at the time.

In her 2017 documentary, Simply Complicated, she said: "[When] 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'.

"But I was only 17, so he was like, ‘Get away from me.'

"After I turned 18, we began dating. I think it was love at first sight, and I don’t really believe in that, but I believe that it happened."

Tyla has contacted a rep for Valderrama for comment.