Source: USA Today
American singer and actress Jessica Simpson celebrated four years of sobriety with a throwback that shows how far she’s come.
On Monday, the former pop star shared a 4-year-old makeup-free Instagram photo of herself sitting in her living room in a pink tracksuit. She revealed that the photo marked the moment she decided to drop the bottle and embrace an alcohol-free life and journey. In the lengthy caption, she wrote, “In the early morning of Nov 1, 2017, this person is an unrecognizable version of myself as I had much self-discovery to unlock and explore. But, I knew at this moment I would take back my light, show victory over my internal battle of self-respect, and brave this world with piercing clarity.”
To help achieve her set goal and reach her full potential, the “With You” singer knew she needed to stop drinking alcohol. “It kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction, and quite honestly, I was exhausted.” She continued, “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 – 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.”
After making the life-changing decision four years ago, Jessica remarked how quickly the time went, and four years only seemed like too. She also demystified some of the stigmas around the label of an alcoholic. She affirmed that drinking was not the issue but a symptom of how she was unable to accept and love herself. “The real work that needed to be done in my life was actually to accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self-sabotage. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my power. Today I do. I have made peace with the fears, and I have accepted the parts of my life that are just sad. I own my power with soulful courage. I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free.”
In 2020, the multimedia entrepreneur painstakingly chronicled her struggle with alcohol and pill addiction in her memoir Open Book, as she revealed that she believes her addiction results from trying to numb the trauma from her childhood sexual abuse. During media rounds for the book, she told People she realized she was at rock bottom when zoned out from drinking during Halloween celebrations in 2017 and could not dress her kids.
In another separate interview in March on The Tamron Hall Show, she opened up about her struggles to host Tamron Hall, asking how she managed to remain sober throughout the pandemic. Jessica replied, “It’s weird because alcohol was an easy thing for me to give up. It was holding onto how I romanticized the pain I liked to hold on to.”
