Jessica Simpson is getting brutally honest about her past in her new book, Open Book, which comes out on February 4. In the memoir, Jessica, 39, revealed that she was sexually abused as a child. She also talks about how that trauma caused her to struggle with alcohol and pills before deciding to get sober in 2017.
The sexual abuse began when Jessica was 6 years old. She wrote, according to People, that it occurred “when I shared a bed with the daughter of a family friend.” She said, “It would start with tickling my back and then go into things that were extremely uncomfortable.”
The “With You” singer blamed herself for what happened. “I wanted to tell my parents,” she wrote. “I was the victim but somehow I felt in the wrong.”
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When she was twelve, she finally disclosed the abuse to her parents, Tina and Joe Simpson, during a family car trip. As Jessica remembers, Tina slapped Joe’s arm and told him, “I told you something was happening.”
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“Dad kept his eye on the road and said nothing,” Jessica wrote. “We never stayed at my parents’ friends house again but we also didn’t talk about what I had said.”
Photo credit: INSTARImages
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As the years went on and Jessica rose to fame, she buried the anxiety and trauma she experienced. For years she self-medicated with alcohol and stimulants.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
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“I was killing myself with all the drinking and pills,” she wrote. Jessica finally got sober in November 2017. As she recalled, she hit rock bottom after a Halloween party at her home.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
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She told her closest friends, “I need to stop. Something’s got to stop. And if it’s the alcohol that’s doing this, and making things worse, then I quit.” They gave her a group hug and supported her as she’s gotten sober with the help of husband
Eric Johnson, her doctors and twice weekly therapy.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
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Opening up in therapy was the hardest part. She wrote, “With work, I allowed myself to feel the traumas I’d been through.”
When she was twelve, she finally disclosed the abuse to her parents, Tina and Joe Simpson, during a family car trip. As Jessica remembers, Tina slapped Joe’s arm and told him, “I told you something was happening.”
Photo credit: INSTARImages
“Dad kept his eye on the road and said nothing,” Jessica wrote. “We never stayed at my parents’ friends house again but we also didn’t talk about what I had said.”
Photo credit: INSTARImages
As the years went on and Jessica rose to fame, she buried the anxiety and trauma she experienced. For years she self-medicated with alcohol and stimulants.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
“I was killing myself with all the drinking and pills,” she wrote. Jessica finally got sober in November 2017. As she recalled, she hit rock bottom after a Halloween party at her home.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
She told her closest friends, “I need to stop. Something’s got to stop. And if it’s the alcohol that’s doing this, and making things worse, then I quit.” They gave her a group hug and supported her as she’s gotten sober with the help of husband
Eric Johnson, her doctors and twice weekly therapy.
Photo credit: INSTARImages
Opening up in therapy was the hardest part. She wrote, “With work, I allowed myself to feel the traumas I’d been through.”
