wrote that she had an abortion while dating more than 20 years ago, according to a peek inside her hotly anticipated memoir.
鈥淚f it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it,鈥� she writes of the procedure, according to the excerpt from 鈥淭he Woman in Me鈥� 鈥淎nd yet Justin was so sure that he didn鈥檛 want to be a father.鈥�
The pregnancy 鈥渨as a surprise, but for me, it wasn鈥檛 a tragedy,鈥� she wrote in the excerpt, saying that she had wanted to start a family with Timberlake 鈥� it was just earlier than expected.
鈥淏ut Justin definitely wasn鈥檛 happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren鈥檛 ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young,鈥� she wrote. The couple broke up in 2002. It鈥檚 unclear when the pregnancy happened.
Representatives for Spears declined to offer further comment. Representatives for Timberlake did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. The AP has not been able to independently review a copy of the 鈥淭he Woman in Me鈥� yet.
Spears, a prolific user of social media, has not posted to Instagram or X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, since the People stories were published.
In the excerpt published in People, she characterized the abortion as 鈥渙ne of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.鈥�
厂辫别补谤蝉鈥� will be published Oct. 24, just months after and promising to shed light on the 41-year-old鈥檚 tumultuous decades in the spotlight.
鈥淣O ONE KNOWS WHAT I REALLY THOUGHT 鈥� UNTIL NOW,鈥� for the book she posted Sunday. The audiobook will be narrated by actor Michelle Williams.
Hailing from Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears rose to fame as a tween on 鈥淭he Mickey Mouse Club,鈥� alongside other future stars like Ryan Gosling and Timberlake 鈥� a trajectory chronicled in published by People.
Despite some further attempts at acting 鈥� in the People excerpts, she says the lead in 鈥淭he Notebook鈥� came down to her and Rachel McAdams and that she was relieved when 2002鈥檚 鈥淐rossroads鈥� was 鈥渨as pretty much the beginning and end of my acting career鈥� 鈥� she found indelible stardom with her music career, starting with 1999鈥檚 鈥溾�aby One More Time.鈥�
She had two sons with Kevin Federline, but was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship 鈥� mostly 鈥� that controlled her life, money and voice after public breakdowns. That conservatorship would last nearly 14 years, after a swelling #FreeBritney movement that helped secure
Many of 厂辫别补谤蝉鈥� allegations against her father and others who operated the conservatorship are expected to be heard in a civil trial scheduled for next year.
A 2021 documentary, 鈥淔raming Britney Spears,鈥� included an old interview in which Timberlake spoke of sleeping with a former girlfriend and indicated he ridiculed her in his 鈥淐ry Me A River鈥� music video. That sparked a backlash in which fans accused the former NSYNC member of contributing to 厂辫别补谤蝉鈥� breakdown and also renewed ire about his role in Janet Jackson鈥檚 so-called wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. Subsequently, 鈥渂ecause I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.鈥�
A few months later, as Spears about what she described as an 鈥渁busive鈥� conservatorship in court, Timberlake tweeted his support.
鈥淎fter what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time,鈥� he posted in June 2021. 鈥淩egardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was鈥� what鈥檚 happening to her is just not right.鈥�
The Associated Press
