Jessica Simpson discussed the sexual abuse she suffered as a child with her children: ‘We are very open’
Jessica Simpson says she is “very open” about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child with her children.
Appearing on Good Morning America on Thursday, Simpson, 40, said he decided to tell his daughter Maxwell about the abuse after she was approached by a fan at a book signing event, which she said was inspired to seek therapy after reading about his experience in his memoir, Open Book.
By chance, Maxwell was with her at the time, and the singer decided to interrupt the event to tell her what had happened.
‘It’s something we’re very open about’: Jessica Simpson discussed the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of a family friend with her children
‘A woman came up to me and she was crying and she had her daughter with her and she was saying that’ What you went through as a child, you know, really encouraged me to talk to my therapist and be open with my family about it, “he said. And Maxwell said, ‘Mom, what is she talking about?’
‘And then I held the autograph line and thought,’ I think this is the time when I’m going to talk to my daughter about it here in Times Square. ‘
‘But it was a perfect moment because she saw how to be open and honest with her feelings and how you can inspire people that way … how honesty really is moving and how it can make a change in people’s lives and she saw that mom was doing it, ‘she said. ‘She went home and started writing in the diary … she has been writing in her diary ever since.’
Simspon also said that his children read some of his memories.
Movida: Simpson, 40, decided to tell his daughter Maxwell about the abuse after she was approached by a fan at an autograph event, who said she was inspired to seek therapy after reading about her experience in her memoir, Open Book
‘I’m going to talk to my daughter about it here in Times Square’: Simpson recalled what went on in his mind when he decided to share his story of abuse with Maxwell
“They read some things,” she said. ‘There is nothing that is off limits. We are a very open family. For me, when I talk about sexual abuse and other things, these things happened to me when I was younger than them and at their age. So, it is something that we are very open about. ‘
Simpson revealed in his memoir Open Book that the daughter of a family friend sexually abused her when she was six years old.
The singer kept the abuse a secret for years, and she didn’t tell her parents about it until six years after it started.
Family matters: Simpson shares daughters Maxwell, eight, Birdie, two, and son Ace Knute, seven, with her husband Eric Johnson
After telling his story in his memoirs, Simpson says he has heard of other women who have had similar experiences.
“The feeling is overwhelming, beautiful and humiliating at the same time,” she told People. ‘I decided to write the book in the hope of being able to help someone who feels oppressed by life, needing to read a path through all the hidden places and not feel alone with their pain.
‘It was written for someone who knows that there is more to them in this life, but it just needs encouragement to go through it with compassion for the difficult things.’
“The personal offerings of courage, resilience and hope that people have entrusted to me in the past year have meant more to me than they will ever know,” she said.
‘The stories brought me back to my ambition as a leader. The hearts and faces behind these stories will stay with me for the rest of my life. ‘
Moving on: after telling his story in his memoirs, Simpson says he heard of other women who had similar experiences