Jessica Simpson shares photo from the day she quit drinking as she celebrates 6 years of sobriety
Jessica Simpson is reflecting on six years of sobriety.
The singer and author, 43, took to Instagram this past week to announce she had reached a major milestone. According to Simpson's post, it has been six years since the day she decided to quit drinking alcohol.
In her Instagram Stories, Simpson reposted an image of herself from that morning six years ago, in which the nearly unrecognizable star sits in the sun in a pink sweatsuit. In the caption, Simpson explained what was going on internally when that photo was taken.
"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," Simpson wrote on Instagram. "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."
She went on to explain that in order to achieve that piercing clarity, she would have to find sobriety.
"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," the singer 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 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."
Simpson also wrote about the tremendous amount of stigma surrounding alcoholism. She noted that drinking was merely a symptom of her problems, which were actually accepting "failure, pain, brokenness and self-sabotage."
"I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do. I have made nice with the fears and I have accepted the parts of my life that are just sad. I own my personal power with soulful courage. I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free," she concluded.
Simpson first revealed her addiction to pills and alcohol in 2020, explaining in her memoir Open Book that she had been "killing myself" drinking, starting early each morning.
Reflecting in a discussion with Hoda Kotb on the Today show in 2020, she noted that she had "started a spiral, and I couldn't catch up with myself." While she repeatedly told others she would eventually limit her alcohol intake, but realized that she couldn't do so without removing alcohol completely.
"For me to cut back... I'm an all-or-nothing girl," Simpson said.
One way Simpson has spoken about her sobriety is through her music. In 2021, she released "Particles," a cover of the Nothing But Thieves song about addiction. In the description of the cover uploaded to Youtube, Simpson shared how beneficial her work has been in getting healthy.
"The whole idea of music heals is a very real statement to me," Simpson noted. "This song healed a broken piece of me."
