Earlier this month, Jessica Simpson revealed that she’d been sexually abused as a child and that the resulting trauma led to years of chronic substance abuse.
Simpson’s drug of choice was alcohol, and she says she spent much of her adult life self-medicating to the point of total numbness.
Speaking with Today‘s Hoda Kotb, Simpson gave the most candid interview of her career this morning.
And no doubt many who have struggled or are currently struggling with addiction will find inspiration in her remarks.
“I had started a spiral and I couldn’t catch up with myself…and that was with alcohol,” Simpson said.
“I would say it openly to everyone. ‘I know. I know, I’ll stop soon. I’ll cut back.’ For me to cut back, like I’m an all or nothing girl, and so I didn’t know it was a problem until it was.”
Jessica says she’s been sober since 2017, and she credits her husband with lending his support by going dry at the same time.
Asked how Eric Johnson responded to her decision to give up booze, Simpspon said that he “gave up drinking the second I did.”
Many recovering alcoholics in Simpson’s position might be reluctant to open up about their personal rock bottom, but Jessica went into detail with Kotb, revealing that she “always” carried a cup full of booze when she was at home.
“I completely didn’t recognize myself…I always had a glitter cup,” she said.
“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,” Simpson says of her decision to kick the habit.
“I’m not going to miss another day, I’m not going to miss another Halloween, I’m not going to miss another Christmas. I’m going to be present.”
In recent years, incidents in which Jessica was spotted stumbling out of nightclubs or slurring her speech led to viral videos and memes.
And at the time, many such episodes were regarded as sources of humor.
Jessica was a fun mom who still knew how to party.
Her booze consumption was a part of her outsized public persona, an endearing quirk to which many fans could relate.
Few were aware that Simpson was struggling with addiction, and even fewer were conscious of the fact that her drinking was linked to deep-seated psychological pain.
We wish Jessica all the best in her continued recovery, and we thank her for her bravery in coming forward.