Jessica Simpson opened up on confronting her past abuser and why it was important to forgive her during a chat with author Katherine Schwarzenegger.
The star went public with her secret past as a sex abuse victim earlier this year in her new memoir, Open Book, revealing she was molested by the daughter of a family friend during sleepovers from the age of six to 12.
Her struggle to process the trauma eventually contributed to Simpson's downward spiral of substance abuse, which the mother-of-three only managed to conquer in late 2017, when she sought therapy to help her through the tough time.
Speaking with Katherine, the 40-year-old said to aid her journey of healing she had to face off with her attacker, who had also been abused as a child, sharing: “I went to her and I just said, ‘I know you know what was going on and I know that you were being abused,’ because she was being abused by an older guy.
“He was always there at the house as well, so he never touched me, but he would abuse her and she would come to me and do the stuff to me and so, like in so many ways I felt bad for her and I was allowing the abuse to happen.”
She continued: “I told her in the moment, ‘I know that you have a lot to deal with,’ and I told her that she should probably talk to someone and find a way to understand those moments and to forgive those moments and to heal from those moments.”
Jessica ultimately forgave the girl for her past actions, and told her: "I just want you to know that I forgive you and I don’t really care to be around you that much ever again, but I do want you to know that I know what happened between us and I’m not gonna live in denial about it."
In Open Book, Simpson also addresses her failed marriage to Nick Lachey and struggle to deal with life in the spotlight as a teen.
