The actor was 29 when he started dating Lovato, who was 17 at the time.
Lovato explained the lyrics in an Apple Music interview, saying “the song says it all”.
“When I turned 29, I remember I was on vacation and I just realized I’m 29 now, and that put things into perspective. It put everything into perspective,” said Lovato. “And I’m very careful how I answer those questions because I feel like the song says it all. I don’t have to say too much, to be honest, but being 29 has was a huge eye-opener for me. And then going into treatment and having accomplishments led to my transformation, my release from the emotion that was put into that song.”
The lyrics include: “Finally twenty-nine / Funny as you were then / Thought it was a teenage dream just a fantasy / But was it yours or was it mine? / Seventeen, twenty-nine.”
The song apparently refers to Valderrama (now 42) and his 30-year-old wife, Amanda Pacheco.
Lovato sings, “I see you’re more of a collector / Yeah, you’re twelve years her senior / Maybe now it doesn’t matter / But I know better.”
In the interview, Lovato added that there was a lot of “anxiety” about the song’s release.
I just said, ‘I have to go. I have to come to terms with my truth,” she said.