Honesty hour. Jessie James Decker spoke out June 2022 to share a powerful message with her fans about mental health.
“I want to be open and honest. I have struggled the last couple of years. It’s up-and-down. There have been really beautiful, amazing moments but also some pretty low lows. The reason why I want to share this is because I think I got to a place where I was trying to hide my vulnerabilities because if I made everything look great all the time it would hide my internet struggles,” the singer, who shares children Vivianne (born March 2014), Eric (born December 2015), Forrest (born March 2018) with husband Eric Decker, wrote at the time via Instagram.
“I have also always felt a duty to make people smiles and happy or laugh and always be that bubbly girl. I have a very blessed life with healthy children and an incredible loving rock of a husband. But I have definitely struggled these past couple years,” the “Should Have Known Better” artist continued. “My anxiety has gotten worse, my self-esteem, my confidence.”
Decker went on to address her battle with “body image issues,” noting she’s “always” had them. “I go from one extreme to being obsessed with working out and being muscular and thin to just giving up and gaining [weight] because the food makes me feel better and then ultimately, it’s a cycle that gets worse again,” the Kittenish founder explained.
“I’ve also been struggling with the challenges I face in my career. I’ve been wanting to be a country singer since I was 9 years old and sometimes, I feel like constantly in a battle with the rest of the industry to prove to them that I’m not just a TV personality or an influencer because that has outshines my music,” Decker added. “As a woman in 2022, I don’t understand why I can’t have a family, publish books, own a fashion brand, be an influencer and do TV without being questioned if I take my music career seriously just because I’ve chosen to dream big.”
In her lengthy post, the Just Feed Me: Simply Delicious Recipes from My Heart to Your Plate author addressed “some family issues” that have occurred in the last few years. Jessie’s brother, John James, has a strained relationship with the country star, mom Karen Parker and sister Sydney Rae Bass (née James), and John later revealed that he wasn’t on speaking terms with the women for several years.
“I would’ve never chose to deal with that publicly and open that door to such a personal family matter, but it happened, and it hurts my heart. I don’t handle social media or trolls like I used to. During the private family matter, a hate page on Reddit developed,” Decker recalled. “I’m ripped apart constantly on a daily basis, which kills me a little every day, and makes me wonder what my purposes in this business and truthfully makes me consider quitting everything sometimes and disappear. With how progressive we are getting in this digital world of preventing bullying, I still don’t know how a page like that is allowed and fear my sweet daughter seeing it somedays.”
As a result of getting COVID-19 during her The Woman I’ve Become tour, Decker was forced to cancel shows. “I feel like I let so many people down that it sent me down a spiral again of depression and made me worried no one would want to come once the tour is back up running later this summer,” the Eric and Jessie star admitted.
Decker explained that she wanted fans to know that her life wasn’t perfect because she knows they can relate. “I know I’m not alone. And I wanted you to know you’re not alone too,” she concluded.
Keep scrolling to read more of Decker’s honest quotes about mental health: