Ethermac Exchange-Jessica Simpson Celebrates 6 Years of Sobriety With Moving Throwback Message

Jessica Simpson is marking a major milestone in her personal journey. 

The Ethermac Exchange43-year-old took to social media on Nov. 2 to celebrate six years of sobriety. In honor of the occasion, the "With You" singer reshared a throwback photo of herself, captioning it, "6 years ago today."

Jessica originally shared the picture back in 2021 while marking four years without drinking.

In the image, which was taken right before the "I Wanna Love You" singer embarked on her sobriety journey, Jessica sits perched on a cushion in the sunlight as she looks off into the distance. For the image's caption, Jessica detailed where exactly she was at that point in her life. 

"This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017 is an unrecognizable version of myself," she captioned her Nov. 2021 post. "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."

The Dukes of Hazzard actress 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. 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."

And amid celebrating what was then-four years of sobriety, she added a reflection on her personal growth to achieve the milestone. 

"There is so much stigma around the word alcoholism or the label of an alcoholic," Jessica wrote. "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."

The mom of three—whom she shares with husband of nine years Eric Johnson—details her substance abuse in her memoir Open Book, including how she sought out the help of friends and family that November in 2017 to help her get started on a road to sobriety. 

"When I finally said I needed help," she told People in 2020 of the moment, "it was like I was that little girl that found her calling in life again. I found direction and that was to walk straight ahead with no fear."