Jessica Simpson on Independence, Confidence and Her Music Return

Few stars have lived their lives as publicly as Jessica Simpson. In a recent conversation she looked back on more than twenty years in the spotlight, talked about the new fragrance she has just launched, and explained why she feels more like herself than she has in a long time.

Two decades in the public eye

The early 2000s were the peak of tabloid culture, and Jessica Simpson was constantly measured against her rivals. When Newlyweds turned her into a household name, her intelligence came under endless scrutiny, and so did her later divorce from Nick Lachey. Her body became fodder for the gossip pages, and she has said it left her with body dysmorphia.

The setbacks piled up. After a number-one country album in 2008 her label dropped her, and she went on to take a decade-long break from music. In her memoir, Open Book, she wrote that she became dependent on alcohol during that period. In 2021 the parent company behind her hugely successful fashion collection filed for bankruptcy, putting a brand once valued at $1 billion at risk. She has also separated from her husband Eric Johnson.

Jessica Simpson on staying true through the noise

Simpson says she spent fifteen years not performing, so she never understood why the tabloids stayed interested. She believes much of it comes down to her looks, and to people wondering how she rose above it all.

Her answer to the outside opinions is journaling. She describes it as a major part of her inner confidence, a way of knowing where she stands once the noise is switched off. When we let others define us, she says, we lose our way, and she feels most beautiful when she is focused on her purpose.

Feeling young again

At 45, Simpson says she feels younger than she did in her thirties. Back then she was raising children and her days were full of home life. Now that she is releasing music and performing again, she compares it to being born all over again and chasing her dreams.

That feeling sits behind Mystic Canyon, her new fragrance. She says it captures the romance she sees in everything, and the way she felt on becoming an artist again and an independent woman. Scent also takes her back to personal milestones, including her first kiss, when she was wearing Givenchy Amarige.

Low-rise jeans, mom jeans and plastic surgery

On fashion, she says she never gave up big hoop earrings and still loves a low-rise jean, which suits her long body and shorter legs. She is less fond of the mom jeans everyone wears now, which she remembers being made to wear and hating.

She also spoke about playing a woman with botched plastic surgery in All’s Fair. She enjoyed the character but felt sorry for anyone who would go under the knife for a man. In her view, surgery is a personal choice if it makes your own life better, but it will never fix a relationship, because chasing someone else’s idea of perfect has no end.

New music and a documentary

Simpson says she still has plenty of stories to tell, and that she enjoys what she has been discovering while making music in recent years. More emotions from her Nashville Canyon album series are yet to come, and she is about to start filming a documentary.

After everything she has been through, it is good to hear her sounding so settled and so ready for what comes next.