Jessica Simpson has come a long way. The 39-year-old singer admitted she was drunk on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May 2017 — months before she got sober.
“I can’t even watch the interview,” Simpson said on the Today show on Wednesday, January 29. “It was a weak moment for me and I wasn’t in the right place. I had started a spiral and I couldn’t catch up with myself … and that was with alcohol.”
The fashion designer made headlines for her bizarre comments to Ellen DeGeneres at the time.
“We got an IUD, nothing is going to get into that uterus,” she quipped after declaring that she wasn’t pregnant. (Simpson and husband Eric Johnson share three kids: Maxwell, 7, Ace, 6, and Birdie, 10 months. She gave birth to her youngest daughter nearly two years after the interview.)
In addition to trying to explain how the mermaids she hired for Maxwell’s 5th birthday party went to the bathroom in their tails and not knowing how many songs she was working on, Simpson struggled to explain how long she’s been with Johnson, 40, during the chat with DeGeneres.
“Seven years. Well actually, no, seven years? That’s a long time,” the “With You” songstress said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a seven-year relationship … other than with a woman.”
Simpson revealed that she used alcohol and stimulants to deal with sexual abuse from her childhood in her new memoir, Open Book.
“I was killing myself with all the drinking and pills,” she writes in the book, which hits shelves Tuesday, February 4. “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.”
On the Today show, Simpson noted that she “always” had a cup “filled to the rim with alcohol” with her before she got sober after Halloween 2017.
“I just realized that I had to surrender. It was time. I had to give it up and I was ready,” Simpson told Hoda Kotb. “I’m not going to miss another day. I’m not going to miss another Halloween. I’m not going to miss another Christmas. I’m going to be present.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
