Jessica Simpson has spoken candidly about her decision to move from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee with her family for the summer.
Last month the fashion designer said in an interview with Bustle that she had been back-and-forth from the Tennessee capital three times and was considering a move there to “reboot her music career”. She has since rented a house down south for the summer.
Simpson, 43, has now shared the “hilarious experience” of renting with her husband, Eric Johnson, and their three kids, Maxwell, 11, Ace, 10, and Birdie, four.
She said in an interview with E! News on Monday (28 August) that she’s been enjoying the change in scenery and her kids have picked up on it. “Being in Nashville, even my kids are like: ‘You laugh the whole time. You’re so happy,’” she revealed during a recent PetSafe event in Los Angeles to celebrate National Dog Day. “It’s because I’m not on guard. I’m with a lot of like-minded people. It’s not about the celebrities - it’s really about the music and the heart and the conversation."
Although the renting experience hasn’t been without its unique moments and experiences, as Simpson said that when renting a home, she “didn’t realise” she needed certain items like curtains.
“I used thumb tacks to hang these $40 curtains up so I wouldn’t wake up with the sun,” she shared. “I put together a TV with a butter knife. I was looking for a screwdriver, but I went to the wrong place. I went to Walgreens, I got lip gloss instead.”
She said she’s also used the temporary relocation to get back into music. “I’m not nervous at all, but if you were to ask me two years ago when I was talking about coming back to music, I was frightened,” she admitted. “But now, I know exactly what I want.”
Simpson continued: “I’m building my own platform. I’m doing it for the first time - the way I would - without a label telling me I need to do this song or use this producer. It’s all me.”
Because of the inspiration she’s gotten from living in Nashville, the fashion designer said she has “Pinterest boards upon Pinterest boards” filled with ideas for music videos. “I’ve been planning this for the last 12 years,” Simpson said.
This interview comes after Simpson opened up about negative comments regarding the “evolution” of her body during her rise to fame in the early 2000s while speaking to Access Hollywood last week.
“I wish I could explain it. I wish I could say, for me, that it’s gotten better, but it still remains the same,” she said in the 25 August interview. “Now, my kids see me being still scrutinised, and it’s very confusing to them because they’re like, ‘Well, I don’t even understand this,’” the Open Book author said. “‘Why don’t they just say you look pretty, mom? You look pretty.’”
The singer explained that she’s used this opportunity to help her own children, who may worry about their own bodies. “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. Truly, you don’t have to be any other size,” she said.
