Jessica Simpson is weeks away from a major milestone.
“I’ll have three years sober on Halloween,” Simpson, 40, proudly told TODAY Parents on Wednesday. “What’s crazy is that throughout quarantine I haven’t wanted to drink. I know it's shocking, but I'm determined."
Simpson, who shares kids, Maxwell, 8, Ace, 7, and 18-month-old Birdie, with Eric Johnson, noted that the stress of motherhood never drove her to pour a cocktail at 7:30 a.m.
It was something much darker.
In her memoir, which was released earlier this year, Simpson revealed that she began self-medicating with alcohol and pills after being sexually abused as a young child.
Simpson would hit rock bottom at a Halloween party at her California home in 2017, when she was too intoxicated to help her kids into their outfits.
“I was terrified of letting them see me in that shape,” she shared in the book. “I am ashamed to say that I don’t know who got them into their costumes that night.”
The next day, Simpson called her friends and asked for help. Soon after, she started twice-a-week therapy sessions. She also enlisted a team of doctors to help her quit drinking.
Simpson's kids were motivation.
“At that time, even though they were younger, they were starting to notice something was off,” Simpson revealed. “As a parent, you’re a leader and they want to be like you. I was at a place where I didn’t want to be who I was anymore, and that was a problem.”
But Simpson likes the woman she is today.
“I’m in the moment and I can give clear answers to my kids’ questions that are actually very deep,” Simpson said. “My life is 99% better now.”
Simpson, a lifelong eczema sufferer, opened up to TODAY Parents while discussing partnership with Eucrisa, prescription ointment used to treat the condition.
“Right after I had Birdie, Eric took a picture of me breastfeeding Birdie but all I could see was the bumps all over my forearm. “l wouldn’t let him send it to anyone,” she recalled.
Shortly after, her dermatologist prescribed Eucrisa.
“Within two weeks my eczema was gone,” she raved. “I would never ever want to promote something that I don't believe in. Everything I do is to motivate and empower people to feel better about themselves."
