Jessica Simpson Celebrates Gaining and Losing 100 Pounds 3 Times in New Bikini Photo
Jessica Simpson is feeling confident in a bikini amid an ongoing journey with her body image. The singer, 41, took to Instagram Thursday in a summery paisley bikini from her self-titled clothing line, letting her fans know she "enjoyed a good proud cry today" after plenty of "hard work," "determination," and "self love."
"I have gained and lost 100lbs 3x so I never thought this moment could or would happen," she wrote alongside the photo, "but I'm finally spring breakin' wearin' a BIKINI!!!!!!" The fashion designer, who shares daughter Birdie Mae, 3, daughter Maxwell Drew, 9, and son Ace Knute, 8 with husband Eric Johnson, has been open about her body image struggles over the years, revealing in her memoir Open Book that she reached a low point in 2015 after giving birth to two of her three kids.
"I was so ashamed of my body at this point that I wouldn't let Eric see me without a white T-shirt on," Simpson wrote. "I had sex with it on and even showered with it on. I couldn't bear to look at myself." While the star decided to get a tummy tuck, her doctor warned the procedure could potentially be deadly due to concerns about her liver levels because of her alcohol and pill addiction.
While the first surgery went well, Simpson wasn't happy with the results and scheduled a second tummy tuck, but this one came with major complications. "It did not go well. I got an infection-colitis-and was vomiting so much I thought I was going to bust my sutures," she wrote. "I can tell you that plastic surgery does not cure what's inside. Really, it's about how you feel emotionally, and I was still just as hard on myself once those stitches were out."
Last April, Simpson said during an appearance on the TODAY show that she has since ditched the scale altogether. "I have no idea how much I weigh, I just want to be able to feel good and zip my pants up," she said. "If I don't, I have another size. I have every size." She added of keeping track of her weight, "I've really tried my hardest to not let that define me."