A healthier mindset. Jessica Simpson realized she’s made progress with her mental health when she didn’t feel the desire to have a drink amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The “With You” singer, 40, explained how she battled her alcohol addiction on the Thursday, August 20, episode of SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show.
“People are like ‘Don’t you want to drink during this pandemic? Oh my God, aren’t your kids driving you crazy?’” Simpson told hosts Jess Cagle and Julia Cunningham. “I’m like, ‘No, I do not want to drink,’ like, I have not wanted it. I feel like that’s a big blessing. Once I surrendered and gave it over I never looked back and my husband did it with me so that support was amazing.”
The “Sweetest Sin” songstress detailed her substance abuse issues in her memoir, Open Book, where she revealed that she turned to alcohol and stimulants to deal with sexual abuse from her childhood. However, Simpson realized that she was going down an unhealthy path and wanted to get better for the sake of her children. She and her husband, Eric Johnson, share Maxwell, 8, Ace, 7, and Birdie, 17 months.
“I did make a huge shift in my life,” she said. “I was at that point in my life where my kids were growing older and they were watching every move that I made. I just really wanted clarity.”
The Dukes of Hazzard star added that she didn’t “even realize how much I was drinking” at the time and thought that alcohol “was making me confident” but it was “actually the complete opposite.”
Simpson explained, “It just ended up coming to a surface. I knew a lot of it was coming up, and I couldn’t suppress it anymore. The alcohol was not numbing anything. It wasn’t numb anymore, I was just numb. I couldn’t even understand stuff that was coming out of my mouth, it didn’t sound like me. So I really had to get back inside the person that I am.”
The Employee of the Month star noted that she’s now been sober for “almost three years.” In her book, Simpson said that she appreciated the support of her husband, who also vowed to get sober with her.
“Eric gave up drinking the second I did,” she wrote about the former NFL player, 40. “He said, ‘I’ll do it with you, babe.’ It was like no biggie and he hasn’t gone back or looked back. It’s just the way he is. He’s a very selfless and loving person who is the most incredible father on the planet.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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