Jessica Simpson celebrated six years of sobriety by sharing “unrecognizable” photos of herself on Instagram.
“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 in a caption from 2021, which she re-posted this week. “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.”
To do so, she decided to “stop drinking alcohol because it kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction and quite honestly I was exhausted. I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honor.” Simpson “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 “I Wanna Love You Forever” singer (still a good song) — who Jennifer Lawrence would be starstruck to meet — noted that there’s “so much stigma around the word alcoholism or the label of an alcoholic. The real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self sabotage.” The booze wasn’t issue, she wrote, “I was.”
Simpson, who lost over 100 pounds after she stopped drinking, didn’t love herself at the time but “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.”
You can see the photos below.