Jessica Simpson has been a mainstay of popular culture for years, but her celebrity has often subjected the star to public scrutiny, particularly surrounding her appearance.
Simpson, who has spoken about gaining and losing 100 pounds on three separate occasions, says her children are perplexed by the public's interest in her weight.
"My kids see me being still scrutinized, and it's very confusing to them. Because they're like, ‘I don’t even understand this … Why don't they just say you look pretty, mommy? You look pretty!'"
JESSICA SIMPSON REACTS TO RUMORS SHE'S ON OZEMPIC: 'DO PEOPLE WANT ME TO BE DRINKING AGAIN?'
"And I'm like, ‘Honey, like, I really don’t' – I wish I could explain it, I wish I could say for me, that it's gotten better, but it still remains the same, and I don't know why," Simpson said of continued criticism while appearing on Access Hollywood.
Simpson, who stepped away from singing and acting to focus on her clothing line, says her fluctuating weight has actually benefited her business.
"It's OK because honestly for the Jessica Simpson collection, it's been a beautiful thing, ‘cause I have been every size. I do understand every body and every woman and their mentality and how deserving they are of fashion and style. And it’s just such a natural thing for me," she admitted.
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"I tell my kids, ‘How you feel about yourself, is how you should feel … You don't dress for anybody else, you don't try to look like anybody else.' I mean, somebody can inspire something, but truly, like you don't have to be like any other size."
Simpson shares three children with her former NFL player husband Eric Johnson: Maxwell Drew, 11, Ace Knute, 10, and Birdie Mae, 4.
"Maxwell's the tallest in her grade," Simpson shared. "She's like ‘Should I be insecure?’ I was like, ‘The fact that you’re asking me if you should be insecure means absolutely not. You're comfortable. You stay comfortable. You be you.'
Sharing her kids are unfamiliar with the concept of calories, she tries to model by example.
"I try to not complain about myself in front of them. I try to not diet. I try to not do any of that stuff. They just see me living a healthy lifestyle, that's why I quit drinking … I was like, OK, they're going to pick up on everything I do, so I got to be a good role model. If I can be that for the world, I gotta be that for my kids."
Simpson recently addressed speculation that she was taking Ozempic, a drug traditionally used to treat diabetes, after fans on social media commented that she was too skinny.
"Oh Lord. I mean, it is not – it’s willpower," she told Bustle when asked whether the drug was involved in her routine. "I’m like, do people want me to be drinking again? Because that’s when I was heavier. Or they want me to be having another baby? My body can’t do it."
"I think that more than weight, that people have focused on, we need to focus on our mentality about even talking about weight. I think it just doesn't need to be a conversation," she reiterated to Access Hollywood.
