Over the past four years Jessica Simpson has happily spoken about her sobriety, but she's now showing exactly what she looked like just before deciding to get a better grip on her life.
"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," she captioned an Instagram photo on Nov. 1, 2021. "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 fashion mogul maintained that she knew she need to quit drinking "because it kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction." She also said she was "exhausted" from intaking alcohol.
It wasn't easy making that change in her life back then, but that was sort of the point, too.
"I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honor," she said. "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."
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In 2020, Jessica opened up about her struggle with alcohol in her memoir "Open Book." In several interviews, she elaborated on her decision to get sober, noting that her kids — Maxwell, 9, Ace, 8, and Birdie, 2 — were motivating factors.
"I can't believe it has been 4yrs! It feels like maybe 2. I think that is a good thing," she wrote in the new post. "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," she continued. "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."
