Demi and Wilmer met in 2010, when she was 17, and he was 29. They became romantically involved when she turned 18 and dated on and off for roughly six years.
In 2022, Demi seemingly slammed their 12-year age gap on a song titled “29.” She said, “Petal on the vine / Too young to drink wine / Just five years a bleeder, student and a teacher / Far from innocent / What the fuck’s consent? / Numbers told you not to / But that didn’t stop you.”
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Seemingly referring to Wilmer again on Keke Palmer’s podcast on March 3, Demi questioned, “Why was my boyfriend 30? … You look back in hindsight, when I turned 30, I was like, ‘That’s not OK.’”
@eitherwaydemi / Baby, This Is Keke Palmer / Via youtube.com
Demi’s comments wound up sparking a renewed discussion about how many young girls unfortunately share similar experiences. And amid the discourse, fans have unearthed footage of Demi speaking about her relationship with Wilmer on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show in 2015.
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In the clip, Demi — who was 22 at the time — defended her and Wilmer’s relationship after Ryan told her that she was “too young” for him. The host began, “Did you know that I met your friend Wilmer before you were born? Like, we used to hang in Hollywood.”
After reminiscing on his and Wilmer’s friendship, Ryan asked Demi, “You guys have been close for how long now?” She replied, “I met him five years ago and we became close after that… I looked at him and was extremely attracted to him.”
“When I first met him, I’m not shy [about] dating older men,” she shared. “He was like, ‘Woah, slow down. You’re too young.’”
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Ryan then said, “You are too young,” to which Demi replied, “Not anymore!”
Ryan then laughed and joked that Demi was getting “defensive.” The singer went on to state, “I’m 22,” prompting Ryan to ask how old Wilmer was. “He’s 35,” she said, to which he replied, “Oh, God! He’s my age!”
Demi later added, “I’m basically 30!”
Despite briefly calling out the age gap, Ryan actually went on to praise Demi and Wilmer’s relationship, telling the singer that the couple were “in sync.”
In recent years, the clip has received an increasing number of critical comments. Someone wrote a couple of years ago, “Watching this in 2024, and when he said ‘I met your friend Wilmer before you were born’ says A LOT. I’m glad Demi realizes that she was in an inappropriate relationship… but Wilmer also KNEW BETTER not to be with someone who’s 11-12 years younger than him…. Ryan saying that honestly says a lot.”
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
“This makes me feel ill watching this now,” another recent comment read, while someone else said, “This didn’t age well.”
And last week, the clip resurfaced amid a now-viral TikTok compilation. One popular comment with over 18,000 likes read, “Ryan Seacrest was SO REAL for that. Straight to her face too,” while someone else said, “The way Ryan tried to tell her…. when you are in it, you don’t get it.”
“The way her face changes when Ryan says ‘God, he’s my age,'” another user said.
However, at the same time, many internet users questioned why Ryan didn’t “have the same energy” for Wilmer during an interview that took place a month after his chat with Demi.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
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In said interview, which was also included in the recent TikTok compilation, Wilmer appeared to defend his and Demi’s age gap by telling Ryan Seacrest and fellow radio host Ellen K, “I wanted nothing to do with her!”
“‘Stay away from me,’” he jokingly recalled saying, while Ryan and Ellen laughed. The radio hosts then quipped that Demi “persisted” and “chased” Wilmer down.
Acknowledging this clip now in light of Demi’s latest remarks, one TikTok user said, “He blames the teenager for chasing him when he’s the adult and can make his own decisions.” Another echoed, “It doesn’t matter if someone younger chased him, he should have said no. He’s the adult.”
“So, he (the adult) is blaming her (the teenager)?” someone else said.
Let us know what you think in the comments, and check out Demi’s appearance on Keke’s podcast here.
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