Back in the early 2000s, it seemed like purity culture was at an all-time high — all kinds of celebrities from the Jonas Brothers to Miley Cyrus proudly wore the rings that symbolized their commitment to not having sex until marriage. But as far as Ashlee Simpson was concerned, that life was not for her. During a new podcast appearance, Ashlee revealed she refused to wear a purity ring, even after her dad tried to give her one at 12 years old.
More from CafeMom: New Picture of Khloé Kardashian's Cat Has Fans Shaking Their Heads
Ashlee opened up about her rebellious phase as a teen.
While appearing on Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson & Olivia Allen, Ashlee called herself an "independent soul."
"I would come off way more rebellious than I even was, because I was like, 'Oh no, I’m not doing that,'" she said.
At one point, her dad offered her a purity ring.
Ashlee said that dad Joe Simpson tried to give her a purity ring to "save" her from a guy she was with as a preteen, and she knew even then that wasn't a route she wanted to be taking.
"I would see how my dad would be like, 'Oh, you can’t talk to this guy. Here’s your ring to save yourself.’ He tried to give me one at 12 and I was like, 'Oh, no thank you. I won’t be telling you when I have sex," she said.
She wanted to be able to make her own choices.
Rejecting that purity ring didn't mean that she had sex right away, though — she waited several years to take that step on her own terms.
"Meanwhile, I never did until I was 17, but I always wanted it to be open that you don’t know what I’m doing," she said.
More from CafeMom: 'Teen Mom' Jenelle Evans Reunites With Son Jace After CPS Drops Case Against Her
Her famous older sister did end up wearing a purity ring.
Jessica Simpson famously kept her vow of abstinence until she married her first husband, Nick Lachey. According to Jezebel, in 2003, Jessica said, "I’m so lucky I didn’t lose my virginity in the back of a Jeep or something."
Today, we have a much different view of purity culture and sex than many people did back then, but we can only imagine how much pressure both Jessica and Ashlee must have been under at the time.
In the end it appears Ashlee made the right choice for her.
Good for her for standing up what she believed in, even at such a young age. Some people might have considered it rebellious, but it just sounds like Ashlee knew herself well enough to know what she was comfortable with. Nothing wrong with that!
