Jessica Simpson confessed that she was inebriated during her infamous May 2017 appearance on Ellen DeGeneres‘ daytime talk show. At the time, Ellen asked her if she had written a song for a new album and Jess, 39, slurred, “I have maybe 38, so maybe 36 or 39,” while waving her hands around in confusion. Ellen looked into the camera with an exhausted look as if she couldn’t deal with her guest. Ellen even told Jessica she didn’t believe she’d written 38 songs. Jess also had a TMI moment, slurring while telling Ellen that she was done having kids, admitting she used an IUD and “‘nothing is gonna get in that uterus.” She also couldn’t recall exactly how many years she’d been with husband Eric Johnson, 40. At the time, viewers took to Twitter to comment that she seemed drunk.
“‘I can’t watch it. 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,” now-sober Jessica told Hoda Kotb in an interview that aired on Jan. 29 on The Today Show. She also confessed, “I knew that I wasn’t present. I knew that something was off.”
Jessica is opening up about her battle with the bottle in her new memoir Open Book, due out Feb. 4. She told Hoda that her breaking point came on Halloween of 2017 when she started drinking at 7am. Hoda mentioned how cute Jessica looked dressed up in costume as country singer Willie Nelson in family photos she posted to her Instagram page. Jess said, “That’s what those pictures were for,” about posting them on social media.
.@JessicaSimpson is a performer, a designer, a mom, and owns a billion-dollar business. pic.twitter.com/RINGLz1aXc
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 22, 2017
Even though her kids were seen in cute costumes, the singer admitted, “I couldn’t even tell you who got them ready. I was just dazed and confused and I wanted to go to sleep. I didn’t take them trick or treating. I didn’t show up for my family. I took the picture and I made the world think that I showed up.” Jessica said the next day she quit drinking and began working with a therapist. “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,” she explained about her rock-bottom moment.