Congratulations are in order! Jessica Simpson is celebrating 6 years of sobriety — what an AH-mazing accomplishment!!
To mark the special occasion on Thursday, the star took a look back at a former version of herself while noting all the changes she’s undergone to get to where she is today. Taking to her Instagram Stories, she re-posted an upload from 2021 (when she was celebrating her 4th sobriety anniversary), captioning it, “6 years ago.”
At the time, she shared a candid photo of herself taken on the day she decided to get help in 2017 after hitting rock bottom amid an addiction to “drinking and pills”. She used it to reflect on the woman she was then and the person she’s become, and it sounds like she still stands by everything she said!
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In the powerful snapshot, the 43-year-old sat under a ray of sunlight in a pink sweatsuit, looking wearily off into the distance. You can tell she was going through so, so much, and the moving caption captures the struggle she was dealing with at the time. She wrote several years ago:
“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.”
For her, this meant finally committing to her sobriety, as the I Wanna Love You Forever singer said:
“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. 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.”
The mother of three continued:
“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. 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.”
Whoa. So beautiful! And now she’s added two more years to this impressive milestone! Check out the moving message and her emotional “before” portrait (below):
Beating addiction is never easy, but just look at how this choice has totally transformed her life! She should be so proud!!! And we are so proud of her!
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If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org.
[Image via Jessica Simpson/Instagram]