Jessica Simpson is still hurting after enduring years of comments and headlines about her weight.
The singer, who shot to fame at the age of 17, has been the subject of jibes and criticism about her figure throughout her lengthy career, and she confessed her journey to body confidence is a work in progress.
"I don't think people always realised that there was a human being, a beating heart and working eyes with actual feelings behind those headlines and that words can hurt and stay with you for a lifetime," Jessica told People.
"I spent so many years beating myself up for an unrealistic body standard that made me feel like a failure all of the time. I am still a work in progress when it comes to self-criticism but now I have the tools to quiet those voices in my head when they speak up," she candidly shared.
The 40-year-old recently released a new version of her memoir Open Book, which includes her personal diary entries from 2009, when she was heavily criticised for wearing high-waisted jeans at a concert in Texas.
"Today my heart breaks because people says I'm fat. Why does the cruel opinion of this world get to me? Last week I read back to my journals from 1999 and I beat myself up about how fat I (was) before I even gave the world a chance to," she wrote at the time.
The mother-of-three told People she's healing from the hurt and is overjoyed that more women are learning to love their bodies.
"I believe in my heart that a healthy body and a sound mind-body connection are what's truly important and help me accept imperfections as beauty," Jessica shared.
