Jessica Simpson Shares ‘Unrecognizable’ Photo of Her Taken Before She Got Sober

Jessica Simpson is celebrating six years of sobriety by looking back at how far she’s come. The “Take My Breath Away” singer, 43, took to her Instagram Story Thursday to share an “unrecognizable” photo of herself that was taken on the day she decided to stop drinking alcohol and embark on a sober journey. In the photo, which Simpson originally shared on her Instagram grid in November 2021 to celebrate her fourth year of sobriety, the Grammy winner looks somber while sitting on a couch in a pink tracksuit. 

Simpson wrote on her Story simply, “6 years ago,” but went into the deeper meaning behind the photo in the original post’s caption. “This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017 is an unrecognizable version of myself,” she began. “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.”

In order to do that, Simpson said she needed to stop drinking alcohol “because it kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction” and left her “exhausted.” She continued of her decision to live a sober lifestyle, “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.”

Despite the stigma surrounding being an alcoholic, Simpson said her problem wasn’t drinking, but she didn’t love herself. “The real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self sabotage,” she wrote, adding, “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.”

The “I Wanna Love You Forever” singer also spoke about her battle with alcoholism in her 2020 memoir Open Book, revealing that she first became dependent on alcohol and pills while dating John Mayer in 2007 following her divorce from Nick Lachey. “He was so clever and treated conversation like a friendly competition that he had to win,” she wrote of Mayer, adding that she was “so afraid of disappointing him” during their communications that her insecurity pushed her to drink. “My anxiety would spike, and I would pour another drink,” she shared. “It was the start of me relying on alcohol to mask my nerves.”