Marking four years without alcohol, Jessica Simpson commemorated the major milestone with an introspectively honest Instagram post featuring a picture of an unrecognizable “version” of herself. No stranger to being an Open Book, that is after the name of her memoir, in which Jessica gave her fans an intimate look into her life, including new-to-some revelations that she had been dealing with alcohol abuse.
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And today she continued sharing a picture of herself from 2017 alongside a lengthy caption that gave some insight into her decision to "take back" her light and learn to "love" herself again.
"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. 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 wrote. "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 candidly admitted in her post that “the drinking wasn’t the issue. I was,” and addressed the “stigma” that surrounds the words “alcoholism” and “alcoholic.” Also revealing that drinking wasn't the only problem that she was facing and that self-acceptance was a huge part of her self-discovery.
"I can't believe it has been 4yrs! It feels like maybe 2. I think that is a good thing. Ha. 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," her caption continued. "The drinking wasn't the issue. I was. 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."
Another victory for Simpson came just two weeks ago, when she regained full ownership of her eponymous fashion brand, which she previously only owned 37% of. "It means the absolute world to me to be able to take over complete ownership of my brand," Simpson told Footwear News — which you can check out for all the fancy technicalities and lawyer lingo about how it all went down. Proud of the empire she’s built, Simpson added, “Never in my wildest dreams could I fathom being part of a true lifestyle collection brand that has been at the top of its game for 16 years."
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