In a shocking revelation, excerpts from Britney Spears’ upcoming memoir, “The Woman in Me,” have unveiled deeply personal details, including a past abortion she underwent at the age of 17, when she became pregnant by her then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.
The memoir delves into her tumultuous 13-year conservatorship under her father, James Spears, where Spears was stripped of her autonomy. She sheds light on the attitude of Justin Timberlake at the time of her pregnancy, sharing that he was “not happy” about the situation and made it clear that they were not prepared for parenthood.
Ms. Spears recounted Timberlake’s perspective in her memoir: “He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives.” Furthermore, she disclosed that Timberlake was “so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”
Although Spears had reservations about the procedure, she stated that she would not have chosen abortion if the decision had been solely hers. She added, “For me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated.”
This striking revelation has stirred considerable interest, with many wondering about Timberlake’s response. The BBC has reached out to Justin Timberlake for comment.
The superstar couple dated from 1999 to 2002, a period of intense public scrutiny, and their relationship is the focus of intense curiosity to this day. Britney Spears has since had two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, with her second husband, Kevin Federline.
The memoir, scheduled for release on October 24, arrives two years after the termination of her conservatorship. Spears describes the conservatorship as having “stripped her of her womanhood.” She has previously characterized the arrangement as abusive, initiated by her father in 2008 following her widely publicized breakdown and head-shaving incident.
Spears testified to the court in 2021, alleging that she had been drugged, coerced into performing against her will, and denied the opportunity to have more children while under conservatorship. The arrangement extended control over her financial affairs, career choices, personal matters such as visitation with her teenage sons, and her ability to remarry.
In her upcoming memoir, Spears offers further insights into the harrowing experience of the conservatorship. She described the suppression of her true self and the divide between her public persona as a “wild” performer and her private life as a robot under the conservatorship’s constraints.
Spears also divulged that she was subjected to body-shaming and infantilization by her father, leading to the erosion of her passion for performing. While the book shares darker moments from her life, it also delves into joyous memories from her childhood and a brief return to a semblance of normalcy in Kentwood, Louisiana.
The release of the memoir has allowed Spears to reflect on her transformation over the years and embrace her newfound identity as a strong and confident woman after escaping the clutches of her conservatorship. Her journey is undoubtedly one of resilience, self-discovery, and unwavering determination.
