'I Am Free': Jessica Simpson's Most Powerful Quotes About Sobriety

On the Day She Realized She Needed to Quit Drinking

"I need to stop. Something's got to stop. And if it's alcohol that's doing this and making things worse, then I quit."

— in her memoir, Open Book

On the Ease of Giving Up Alcohol

"Giving up the alcohol was easy. I was mad at that bottle. At how it allowed me to stay complacent and numb."

—in her memoir, Open Book

On Knowing Her Drinking Was a Problem

"I had started a spiral and I couldn't catch up with myself…and that was with alcohol. Every day I would say it, 'I'll stop soon. I'll cut back.'

"I would say it openly to everyone. 'I know. I know, I'll stop soon. I'll cut back.' For me to cut back, like I'm an all or nothing girl, and so I didn't know it was a problem until it was."

— on Today in January 2020

On Realizing She Had to Surrender

"I completely didn't recognize myself. I always had a glitter cup. It was always filled to the rim with alcohol. I just realized that I had to surrender. It was time. I had to give it up and I was ready. I'm not going to miss another day ... I'm gonna be present."

— on Today in January 2020

On the 'Gift' of Sobriety

"I had room for so many wonderful moments that I would have missed: Sober for the first time ever in my studio and seeing Maxwell grab a guitar. Ace in pajamas he put on himself, proudly adding a sticker to his bedtime chart.

"There's just no better gift. There's no better gift I can give my kids, there's no better gift I can give my husband. More importantly, there's no better gift I can give myself."

— to PEOPLE in January 2020

On Finding Her Calling After Getting Sober

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

"Honesty is hard but it's the most rewarding thing we have. And getting to the other side of fear is beautiful."

— in her memoir, Open Book

On Her Husband's Willingness to Give Up Alcohol with Her

"Eric gave up drinking the second I did. 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."

— to PEOPLE in January 2020

On What Made Her Get Sober

"Being a mother — my kids, at the time, were 5 and 4 — I was at a place where I was literally spiraling with the alcohol and I was missing out on moments with my children, and then they were seeing me and they were very confused.

"I just wanted to be present and have clarity and be a good role model for my children. 'Cause I always wanted to be a good role model for the world, so why in the world would I be stuck in this cycle of having to wake up and have a drink before going to one of their school assemblies?

"It got to the point where all of my life has escalated and I couldn't suppress it. And alcohol, it wasn't working. It was making me completely check out."

— on the Kelly Clarkson Show in March 2020

On How Drinking 'Silenced' Her

"I was at that point in my life where my kids were growing older and they were watching every move that I made and I just really wanted clarity, I wanted to understand myself. I thought it was making me brave, I thought it was making me confident, and it was actually the complete opposite, it was silencing me."

— on The Jess Cagle Show in August 2020

On Staying Sober Through the COVID-19 Pandemic

"I have not thought about alcohol ... It's weird because alcohol was an easy thing for me to give up. It was holding onto how I romanticized the pain I liked to hold on to.

"Eric and I, both, we look at each other, like, we could not have drank through this."

— on The Tamron Hall Show in March 2021

On Being Four Years Sober

"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. 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. 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 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."

— on Instagram in November 2021