( CNN ) -- Jessica Simpson 's name dominated headlines for months in 2009 as critics picked apart everything from her weight to her romantic relationships . The onslaught of attention was so extreme , Simpson said on Wednesday 's `` The Oprah Winfrey Show , '' she could n't escape it . `` The judgment of people . ... Those voices are sometimes in my head when I fall asleep , '' the singer said . Even when she 's walking through an airport , she is n't free from people 's opinions , she said . `` I was going through security getting a pat down , and the woman goes , 'Oh , you 're really not that big , ' `` Simpson recalled . `` I walk away from a moment like that thinking that people really think that I 'm 245 pounds . '' But the numbers on her scale have n't been her only public embarrassment . Simpson 's romantic life also became fodder for the media after former boyfriend John Mayer told Playboy magazine that having sex with her was like being exposed to `` sexual napalm . '' `` I could n't read the John Mayer article , '' Simpson said . `` I heard about it and I saw some of the clips . I tried to read it , and I was so disappointed in him ... it made me so sad . It was so discouraging , because that 's not the John I knew . '' While Simpson does n't want people to know the intimate details of her personal life , she admits it could 've been a lot worse . `` My phone is ringing off the hook , I must say , '' she laughed . All jokes aside , Simpson said she did feel betrayed by her ex-boyfriend , whom she dated on and off for two years , and has yet to accept his apology . `` I do n't resent him , '' she said , `` but I 'm just going to let that part of my life go . '' Yet of all the events in the past few years that have affected Simpson , the now infamous pair of `` mom jeans '' she wore while performing at a chili cook-off in January 2009 have taken the greatest toll . `` The sad part about it is that when everything came out , I did n't want to sit down and talk to anyone about it because I felt guilty , '' she said . `` I felt like if people look at me and they 're a size bigger , they think they 're fat because of what the media was saying . I did n't want to feed into it . '' Now , Simpson said she 's found self-acceptance . `` I 'm comfortable with me . I love my curves . I 'm not ever going to be a size 0 and weigh 90 pounds , '' she said . Simpson dropped weight for her 2005 film , `` The Dukes of Hazzard , '' but insisted it was just for a role . The constant chatter about her dress size was part of the inspiration for Simpson 's VH1 show , `` The Price of Beauty , '' in which she visits seven countries to learn the lengths that women go to for beauty . Cameras follow Simpson -- accompanied by friends Ken Paves , a celebrity hairstylist , and CaCee Cobb -- as she tries a flesh-eating fish pedicure in Japan and a detoxifying drink made from cow urine in India . Simpson says filming the show has given her a new outlook on what it means to feel beautiful . `` No one else can define beauty but me , '' she said . `` Nobody 's words , nobody 's compliments , nobody 's love -- it 's all what I have within myself . I finally relaxed , and I do n't care what people have to say about my weight . I think I look great . ''
Winfrey has been silent about the gossip surrounding her weight and relationships . On 2009 , she told Jessica Simpson how difficult the criticism has been . The negative attention to her weight inspired her to do a show about global beauty . Now , Winfrey has found self-acceptance , she told Simpson .