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Jessica Simpson shocked the world when she posted a throwback picture of herself from four years ago on social media on November 1st. The 41-year-old singer shared the truly unbelievable makeup-free picture with her 5.7 million Instagram followers and 6.2 million Twitter followers to show her fans what she looked like at the height of her alcohol addiction – and we have to admit that we would never have known the person in the picture was her if she hadn’t mentioned it. To say she looks unrecognizable is the understatement of the century!
The Dukes of Hazzard star has been in and out of the public eye over the past few years, which is why fans were so shocked to see her sporting such a different face – which appears to be puffy and swollen – in the picture. (It’s a far cry from her dramatic 100-pound weight loss snaps from last year!) Her appearance in the throwback pic is quite consistent with what someone dependent on alcohol might look like, as according to Drink Aware, “Drinking alcohol can cause our faces to look bloated and puffy, and we might find that it bloats the stomach too. This is caused by the dehydrating effects of alcohol.”
In her 2020 memoir Open Book, Simpson went into candid and heart-breaking detail about her previous struggles with addiction, and revealed her dependency on both pills and alcohol was most likely down to her trying to numb the pain of being sexually abused by a family friend when she was just six years old. Simpson said that she wanted to share the throwback picture to celebrate four years of sobriety (even though she admitted that she was shocked it was four years, as it really felt like two) to show herself and the world just how far she has come!
"This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017 is an unrecognizable version of myself," the "Public Affair" singer wrote in the caption. "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. 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," 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. 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 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," she concluded. "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." She ended her long and heartfelt description by writing: "I am free." We're still so shocked by Jessica's picture, but are really glad that she shared it with us. We're so happy that she is in a much better place now!
