'6 YEARS' Jessica Simpson looks unrecognizable and reveals ‘internal battle’ as she marks major sobriety milestone
"The drinking wasn’t the issue. I was."
Nov 3, 2023
JESSICA Simpson looks almost completely unrecognizable as she celebrates a huge milestone in her sobriety journey.
The singer has been sober for six years.
On Thursday, the mother of three shared the milestone on her Instagram Story.
SIX YEARS SOBER
"6 years ago," Jessica wrote proudly.
She linked the story to a November 1, 2021 post, where she celebrated four years of sobriety.
It included a selfie of a much larger version of herself from 2017.
She looked almost unrecognizable in the picture.
Simpson captioned the 2021 post: “This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017 is an unrecognizable version of myself. I had so much self-discovery to unlock and explore.
“I knew in this very moment I would allow myself to take back my light, show victory over my internal battle of self-respect, and brave this world with piercing clarity.
"Personally, to do this I needed to stop drinking alcohol because it kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction and quite honestly I was exhausted."
UNRECOGNIZABLE
The pop star turned fashion designer is sitting on a couch in a messy room in the photo.
She is wearing a two-piece pink sweatsuit and had on little to no makeup.
She continued, writing: "I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honor. I wanted to live as a leader does and break cycles to advance forward- never looking back with regret and remorse over any choice I have made and would make for the rest of my time here within this beautiful world."
The singer said there is stigma around the world alcoholism and the word alcoholic.
"The drinking wasn’t the issue. I was. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power," said Simpson.
TRANSFORMATION
Jessica has since transformed her life in more ways than one.
She lost 100 pounds after she gave birth to her daughter, Birdie Mae, in 2019.
However, sadly, the daughter or a preacher still receives scrutiny for her weight, and her kids have to witness it.
"My kids see me being still scrutinized, and it’s very confusing to them because they’re like, ‘I don’t even understand this. Why don’t they just say you look pretty, mom?” Simpson told Access Hollywood.
“I wish I could say for me that it’s gotten better, but it still remains the same.”
GOODBYE HOLLYWOOD
In the summer of 2023, the With You singer and her family left Hollywood to spend a quiet summer in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jessica is married to former NFL player Eric Johnson. They have three kids together: Maxwell Drew, 11, Ace Knute, 10, and Birdie Mae, 4.
"Being in Nashville, even my kids are like, 'You laugh the whole time. You're so happy,'" the singer told E News.
"It's because I'm not on guard. I'm with a lot of like-minded people. It's not about the celebrities — it's really about the music and the heart and the conversation."
TAKING BACK HER BRAND
She has also been on a journey to re-launch her billion-dollar fashion brand, the Jessica Simpson Collection, which launched in 2005.
In 2015, Sequential Brands acquired a majority stake in the brand for an undisclosed sum.
The company then filed bankruptcy, and in 2021, a judge approved Jessica's $65 million bid to for majority stake in the company.
That same year, she told Footwear News: "It means the absolute world to me to be able to take over complete ownership of my brand."
SPIRALING
Jessica has been open about her struggles with alcohol.
In an interview promoting Open Book, Jessica revealed to Hoda Kotb how bad her relationship with alcohol and stimulants was over the years.
She said she never intended to hurt anyone with her actions.
She recalled drinking at 7 am on Halloween before she became sober.
She told the Today host: "I had started a spiral and I couldn’t catch up with myself … and that was with alcohol,” Jessica said.
“Every day I would say it, ‘I’ll stop soon. I’ll cut back.’”
She continued: "I completely didn’t recognize myself,” she said.
“I always had a glitter cup. It was always filled to the rim with alcohol. I just realized that I had to surrender. It was time. I had to give it up and I was ready."
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