Britney Spears is set to reveal some “brutally honest” stories from her life with the release of her tell-all memoir The Woman in Me, which is set for release October 24. Ahead of that date, excerpts have already started popping up, and it seems like the pop sensation’s tea is every bit as hot as promised. Below you’ll find some of the embattled singer’s biggest revelations about her family, career and relationships, including one bombshell involving ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake.
The *NSYNC star was said to be concerned about what Britney Spears might have to say about him and their relationship, which ended badly in 2002. We may now know what was allegedly “eating at him,” as People reports that the young couple had an abortion back in 2000. Read about that and other segments from The Woman in Me below:
Britney Spears Had An Abortion When Justin Timberlake ‘Didn’t Want To Be A Father’
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were reportedly 19 years old when they became pregnant back in 2000, the “...Baby One More Time” singer writes in her memoir. The couple apparently came to the decision to get an abortion, yet Spears appears to feel regret over her actions. According to an excerpt from her book:
It was a surprise, but 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. But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. … If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.
Britney Spears goes on to say that to this day her abortion was one of the most agonizing things she’s ever experienced. Spears went on to have two sons with Kevin Federline. She and Sam Asghari, who are currently undergoing a divorce, reportedly suffered a miscarriage in May 2022.
Britney Began Drinking Alcohol With Mom Lynne Spears In Eighth Grade
Britney Spears has had a strained relationship with her family, making several allegations against them surrounding the 13-year conservatorship that took away her freedom. However, in an excerpt from The Woman in Me, she fondly recalls taking trips with her mom Lynne to drink alcohol, writing:
For fun, starting when I was in eighth grade, my mom and I would make the two-hour drive from Kentwood to Biloxi, Mississippi, and while we were there, we would drink daiquiris. We called our cocktails 'toddies.' I loved that I was able to drink with my mom every now and then. The way we drank was nothing like how my father did it. When he drank, he grew more depressed and shut down. We became happier, more alive and adventurous.
Lynne Spears and Britney’s younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears have both addressed Jamie Spears’ drinking problem in their own memoirs, and the pop star’s father has said he has no plans to read what Britney has to say about him in hers.
Britney Was Up For The Lead Role In The Notebook Opposite Ryan Gosling
Following her movie Crossroads in 2002, which she starred in with Zoe Saldaña and Taryn Manning, Britney Spears’ career path almost took a wildly different turn. The singer was allegedly close to reuniting with Mickey Mouse Club co-star Ryan Gosling in a little rom-com called The Notebook. Spears reveals in her memoir:
The Notebook casting came down to me and Rachel McAdams, and even though it would have been fun to reconnect with Ryan Gosling after our time on the Mickey Mouse Club, I’m glad I didn’t do it. If I had, instead of working on my album In the Zone I’d have been acting like a 1940s heiress day and night.
Nearly 20 years later it’s impossible to imagine anyone but Rachel McAdams portraying Allie in The Notebook, and it’s equally as hard to picture Britney Spears’ trajectory as a musician-turned-movie star. Alas, Spears writes, Crossroads was pretty much the beginning and end of her acting career.
The Woman in Me is out October 24.