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Justin Timberlake is trying not to focus on the fact his relationship with Britney Spears is back in the news and public discourse. A source spoke to Entertainment Tonight about Timberlake’s feelings after Spears revealed in her memoir, The Woman in Me, that she became pregnant while dating him in 2000 and had an abortion because he was not ready for parenthood.
The source said, “Justin has been focusing on his own family and trying not to concern himself with Britney’s memoir. In recent years, Justin has tried to be supportive of Britney from a distance. They dated so long ago, but he still has respect for her. Justin and Jessica [Biel, Timberlake’s wife] just want everyone to grow and evolve instead of continuing to bring up the past.”
Spears, who dated Timberlake from 1999 to 2002, starting when she was just 17, wrote about her mixed feelings about ending her pregnancy in her memoir. An excerpt of the passage was published in People today ahead of the book’s October 24 release.
When Spears found out she was pregnant, “it was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much,” she wrote. “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.”
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake at the 12th Annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Party in February 2002.
“I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby,” she continued. “I don’t know if that was the right decision. 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.”
Spears and Timberlake are both parents now with other partners: Spears has two sons with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, while Timberlake has two sons with Biel.
Before the excerpt came out, multiple sources told Page Six that Timberlake was “concerned” about what Spears wrote about their relationship in the book. “He’s very curious what she’ll reveal from their relationship,” one source said. “It’s eating at him.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.