Nearly a decade after she became sober, Jessica Simpson recently admitted she became afraid of herself before she decided to stop drinking. During a recent interview with The Cut, Simpson reflected on life before she stopped drinking alcohol, including when she decided enough was enough.
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“Around 2016, ’17, I was writing out here in Los Angeles with some of the biggest hitmakers. I have songs from those times that I never released because they just didn’t feel like me,” she recalled. “Every time I would write, I was a little afraid of myself. It was almost too much, especially because I was drinking at the time.”
“But once I gave up the alcohol, the fears just diminished,” she continued. “They went away. And it was so much easier for me to access myself artistically.”
Jessica Simpson said that she “overthought” things when she drank.
“Making this record wasn’t about having a hit,” she pointed out. “It was just about having a vibe. There’s really not a lot of that in Los Angeles right now. It’s formulaic. I wanted to break that mold for myself personally. I don’t care if anything’s a hit. I’m not with a record label. I don’t expect it to even be on the radio.”
Jessica Simpson celebrated seven years of being sober in November 2024. “7yrs ago today I walked myself into the light of being alcohol free,” she wrote in a post on Instagram, which featured her sitting on an airplane.
In August 2024, Jessica Simpson was forced to clap back at an Instagram follower who told her to “stop drinking” while celebrating her son Ace’s 11th birthday.
“I haven’t wanted or touched alcohol since October 2017, and it has been the best decision I’ve made for myself and for my family,” she stated. “Thank you for your concern, but you have me very misunderstood. Sending love your way.”
The follower backtracked on their comment by apologizing for making an assumption.
Jessica Simpson Detailed Her Sobriety Journey In a 2021 Instagram Post
In a 2021 post on Instagram, Jessica Simpson reflected on her sobriety journey.
“This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017, is an unrecognizable version of myself,” she wrote in the post. “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,” she further explained. “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 stated that there was a stigma surrounding alcoholism. She realized that “the real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self-sabotage.”
The singer pointed out that drinking wasn’t the issue, she was, and she didn’t love herself. “I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do,” she shared. “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.”
She then added, “I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free.”