Jessica Simpson marks four years of sobriety with unrecognisable photo

“This person is an unrecognisable version of myself,” says the star, as she marks a big milestone in her recovery from alcohol addiction.

Jessica Simpson honoured a milestone in her sobriety journey with an “unrecognisable” photo of herself.

Marking four years without alcohol, Simpson, 41, wrote on Instagram Monday that the “version” of herself depicted in the picture is a person who had yet to undergo the necessary healing from past traumas.

“This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017 is an unrecognisable version of myself. I had so much self discovery to unlock and explore,” she captioned the photo, which shows her makeup-free and seemingly crying while wearing a pink tracksuit.

This photo of Jessica was taken four years ago.

“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 “Open Book” author knew she needed to quit drinking alcohol because she was “exhausted” from numbing her issues.

“I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honour,” she explained. “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.”

Simpson candidly admitted in her post that “the drinking wasn’t the issue. I was,” and addressed the “stigma” that surrounds the words “alcoholism” and “alcoholic.”

Jessica in February 2016. Picture: WireImage

Now sober and in control.

“The real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self sabotage,” she shared. “ … 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,” she ended her message. “I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free.”

Simpson admitted to developing an addiction to alcohol and pills in her 2020 memoir, in which she said her dependency was partially brought on by the trauma surrounding childhood sexual abuse that began when she was 6.

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.