Ashlee Simpson Reveals She Made Major Appearance Change the Same Day She Finished Filming 7th Heaven

One of the first places Ashlee Simpson went after wrapping filming on 7th Heaven was the drugstore to buy hair dye.

In the Aug. 21 episode of the Boy Meets World rewatch podcast, Pod Meets World, 40-year-old Simpson opened up about how she filmed 40 episodes of the CW drama while simultaneously writing and recording her first album, Autobiography, around 2002.

The 7th Heaven cast, she said, was like “a great family.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“[It would be] Beverly Mitchell and, like, I was there writing songs. Rachel Blanchard would run lines with me every day. And I was there writing songs, and they would come to my trailer and listen to the new song I wrote,” Simpson recalled. “And at the same time, I was also filming my reality show, The Ashlee Show [which aired for two seasons on MTV]. It was like a lot of layers going on.”

Since she had a main role on 7th Heaven, she had to maintain a certain look while filming — a bright blond shoulder-length cut. So when filming wrapped, she decided to make a change.

“The day that I finished 7th Heaven, because you have to have continuity with your hair and whatnot, I went to CVS and I bought a hair dye box with brown hair and dyed my hair,” she said.

Almost immediately after, Simpson was supposed to shoot the music video for her debut single, “Pieces of Me,” and had to give everyone a warning.

“I called everyone and I’m like, ‘I just want you to know I have brown hair, and it’s from a box at CVS,'” she said with a laugh.

Despite choosing a cheap, at-home option, Simpson noted that her hair turned out great.  

She added that she later went even darker, telling hosts Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle, that “doing life [in the public eye] in those young ages” meant her every move — and every hair color — was documented.

“You’re in … almost at that time in like your college years,” she explained. “You’re experimenting, you’re coloring your hair every color, you’re doing everything and it’s all in front of everyone.”