The Minister’s Daughter

By: Gabriela Yareliz

“Remember who you are; forget who they told you to be.” Jessica Simpson is back with new music, and I am here for it. This new music feels part gospel, part folk. In many ways, it feels like a homecoming. The pastor’s daughter is back.

If you were a Y2K girlie and you strived for the squeaky clean image, you were a fan. Sometimes, I look at Jessica, and she still dresses the way we all wanted to back in 2002. From The Newlyweds, where we all saw her grow up in a marriage that by today’s standards makes our hearts hurt (Nick was so mean to her); and then, seeing her evolve, divorce, succeed on her own; to her most recent separation from Eric Johnson— hers is a story of resilience. A woman who was known for her Christian values and entering her marriage “pure”— this was a big deal in Hollywood back then. She was the antithesis to Britney Spears when I was a kid. She tried to do so much right. We don’t talk about this enough. Sometimes, you do the very best you can in life, and you still end up as a burn victim, so to speak.

Whether it’s the music industry, Hollywood, politics (a big one) or even religion, it’s all the same in that it worries more about image and judgment (and I mean this more as stark thinking, not always criticism) rather than truth. It often teaches a judgmental form of thinking that makes us tired, harsh, weary and appearance-driven. It doesn’t matter who you are; if they don’t want you to win, you won’t. People struggle with this more than they’ll admit because it’s part of the human condition. We drown in the thoughts, rules and judgments of others. We drown in our own.

Now, we see a Jessica rising from the ashes and coming back to music. I would argue that even after all she has done and weathered, she remains an example. She has come back to speak truth. In my book, someone who speaks truth earns respect. She has come to tell us she is free and to expose the dark twists and turns of the mind that led her to this point.

It has been a wild ride, but dare we call it life if it isn’t? Growing up, we thought life would be like her Christmas special, singing Baby, It’s Cold Outside with our husbands or something. Growing up means knowing it’s about who we become and help others become. It becomes more about the silent nights that bring us to peace.

Back in 2003, we wanted her sunglasses, her bag, her body and southern sense of humor. But now in 2025, we want her spirit. 🤍