Courtesy of Jessica Simpson/Instagram (2)
Jessica Simpson Shares ‘Unrecognizable’ Throwback Photo of Herself on Day She Quit Drinking
Jessica Simpson celebrated six years of sobriety from alcohol and shared a photo taken the day she decided to put down the bottle as a reminder of how booze left her “unrecognizable.”
The clothing and accessories entrepreneur, 43, originally shared the snapshot of her looking tired and heavily bloated in 2021 but reposted it in a Friday, November 2, Instagram Story reminding fans that she’s been on her sobriety journey for a half-dozen years now.
At the time, Jessica wrote under her original post, “This person in the early morning of November 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.”
The singer continued, “Personally, to do this I needed to stop drinking alcohol.”
At the time she celebrated four years of sobriety but said in “only felt like two.” Jessica explained, There is 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 drinking wasn’t the issue. I was. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do.”
Jessica told the story of her wake-up call during a 2020 appearance on NBC’s Today, where she had spent Halloween morning drinking and had no recollection of getting her children — daughter Maxwell, 11, and son Ace, 10 — into their costumes, as well as her own, where she dressed as Willie Nelson for a family photo.
“I honestly couldn’t even tell you who got them ready. I was just dazed and confused, and I just wanted to go to sleep,” the Texas native shared. “I didn’t take them trick-or-treating. I didn’t show up for my family. I took the picture and I made the world think that I showed up.”
After having the post-Halloween photo taken to remind herself of how alcohol had ravaged her, Jessica told host Hoda Kotb, “I completely didn’t recognize myself.”
“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. I’m not going to miss another day. … I’m going to be present,” she revealed.
Two years after getting sober, Jessica and husband Eric Johnson welcomed their third child, Birdie Mae Johnson, in March 2019.
The former Weight Watchers spokeswoman went on to lose a whopping 100 pounds after her daughter’s birth and has maintained a slender figure in the years since.
Fans became worried about Jessica’s shrinking frame in 2023 after her weight seemed to plummet, with some accusing her of using the weight loss drug Ozempic.
The Open Book author denied taking the drug in a July 2023 interview with Bustle and chalked up her physique to “willpower.”
Have a tip? Send it to us! Email In Touch at contact@intouchweekly.com.
