Jessica Simpson reflects on how alcohol blocked her life dreams

Jessica Simpson is reflecting on eight years of sobriety.

On Saturday, the 45-year-old pop star took to social media to celebrate the milestone while sharing the dark side of alcoholism that nearly “blocked” her from chasing her dreams. 

“8 years ago today I made the choice to confront, to confess and to let go of the self sabotaging parts of my life that I was choosing,” she wrote on Instagram, alongside a selfie. “Making that decision allowed me to fully live in the pursuit of Gods purpose for my life.”

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“Alcohol silenced my intuition, blocked my dreams and chased my circulating fears of complacency,” she continued. “Today I am clear. Today I am driven by faith. Both fear and faith are something that we feel and may not see. I’m so happy I chose faith over fear. It was not in the fight that I found my strength, it was in the surrender.”

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In an interview with The Cut earlier this year, Simpson opened up about the positive impact her sobriety has had on her personal and professional life, and shares why she was “a little afraid” of herself while drinking alcohol. 

“Around 2016, ’17, I was writing out here in Los Angeles with some of the biggest hitmakers. I have songs from those times that I never released because they just didn’t feel like me,” she said. “Every time I would write, I was a little afraid of myself. It was almost too much, especially because I was drinking at the time.”

“But once I gave up the alcohol, the fears just diminished. They went away. And it was so much easier for me to access myself artistically,” she continued.

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Simpson celebrated eight years of sobriety on Nov. 1.  (Aeon/GC Images)

“I overthought it when I drank,” she added. “Making this record wasn’t about having a hit. It was just about having a vibe. There’s really not a lot of that in Los Angeles right now. It’s formulaic. I wanted to break that mold for myself personally. I don’t care if anything’s a hit. I’m not with a record label. I don’t expect it to even be on the radio.”

Simpson has been open about her journey of self-discovery — especially since her split from ex-husband Eric Johnson. 

Simpson revealed she had separated from Johnson after 10 years of marriage in January. At the time, she shared that the couple “have been living separately” but did not reveal any details on the timeline of her split from Johnson.

“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson said in a statement to People magazine.

Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson split after 10 years of marriage.  (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)

“Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them. We are grateful for all of the love and support that has been coming our way, and appreciate privacy right now as we work through this as a family.” 

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In 2023, Simpson took to social media to celebrate her six-year sobriety anniversary. The original post featured a photo of Simpson taken on Nov. 1, 2017, the day she decided to get sober — she’s said that her last time drinking was on Halloween night of that year.

“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,” Simpson captioned the original post.

“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,” she continued. “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.”

The 45-year-old singer said alcohol allowed her to chase “complacency.”  (Jeff Kravitz)

“I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honor,” she continued. “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.”

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“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,” she added. “The drinking wasn’t the issue. I was. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do.”