Ashlee Simpson Knew Who She Was After Seeing Sister Jessica Go 'Through It' in the '90s

Mar. 15, 2025

Jessica Simpson and Ashlee Simpson in Los Angeles in February 2024.Photo:Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Janie’s Fund

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Janie’s Fund

Ashlee Simpsonis recalling her older sisterJessica Simpson’s rough patch in the ’90s — and how she learned from her experiences.

In a cover story interview withThe Cuton Thursday, Feb. 20, the sister duo recalled the start of their careers — and how difficult that time was for the “Take My Breath Away” singer.

“Let’s go back to you when you were signed. We’re in the ’90s. I was at the School of American Ballet,” Ashlee, 40, tells Jessica, 44, who noted that Ashlee also dyed her hair “with Kool-Aid.”

“I had braces, and I was just a little ballerina. You and Dad came to New York; you got signed. People were d—s back then,” said Ashlee. “It was like, ‘You should be skinny; you should look like this; you should sound like this person.’ I saw so much of that, and I was like, ‘Oh no, f— that. I’m never going to be that.'”

Then, Jessica commended her sister for knowing herself “from the beginning.”

Jessica Simpson and Ashlee Simpson in Venice in April 2015.Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

“Only because I watched you going through it,” Ashlee said.

Jessica added, “Yeah, you watched me going through it — you watched me getting booed onstage.”

Ashlee and Jessica agree that there was “so many men” in “suits” who would tell them “who you’re supposed to be.”

After the release ofDo You Know, Jessica was presented with “360 deals” and she refused to sign.

Jessica and Ashlee Simpson in Hollywood in the 2000s.Steve Granitz/WireImage

Steve Granitz/WireImage

She concluded, “It took me a while to realize that I deserved to work for myself.”

Now, Jessica is gearing up to release an EP titledNashville Canyon Part 1on March 21 and will be dropping the single “Use My Heart Against Me” on Feb. 21.

“I’d wake up in the morning and write down poetry, lucid dreaming style,“she told PEOPLE exclusivelyin February about the album. “And then bring that to the songwriting sessions.”

For “Use My Heart Against Me,” Jessica also said she “woke up with that lyric in my head.”

“It’s kind of craving someone that you want again and you don’t care if your heart is used against you – if it’s just for one night. Like, give it over, just for the experience again,” she said.

source: people.com