- Britney Spears says she had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake.
- She writes in her new memoir that she wouldn't have made the choice on her own.
Britney Spears had an abortion while dating Justin Timberlake because the former *NSYNC member "didn't want to be a father" at the time she got pregnant with their child, according to an excerpt of the singer's upcoming memoir published by People.
"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," Spears writes in "The Woman In Me," per People. "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."
The "Stronger" singer began dating Timberlake in 1999, when she was 17 and he was 18. They broke up in 2002.
"I'm sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby," Spears writes. "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."
"To this day, it's one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life," she continues.
A representative for Timberlake didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Spears is now a mother to Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17, whom she had with her ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Timberlake shares sons to Silas, 8, and Phineas, 3, with wife Jessica Biel.
This isn't the first time the exes have spoken out about one another in the years since they dated.
The "Cry Me A River" singer is notoriously private about his personal life these days, but publicly supported Spears during her 2021 court battle to end her conservatorship.
"After what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time. Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what's happening to her is just not right," Timberlake wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2021 after Spears testified about her life under legal constraints. "No woman should ever be restricted from making decisions about her own body."
After what we saw today, we should all be supporting Britney at this time.
— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) June 24, 2021
Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what’s happening to her is just not right.
No woman should ever be restricted from making decisions about her own body.
Earlier that year, in February 2021, Timberlake issued a public apology to Spears and Janet Jackson on Instagram after facing renewed backlash for his treatment of both women in years past.
"I've seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond. I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak for what was right," he wrote. "I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism."
The statement continued: "I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed," referencing his relationship with Spears and the 2004 Super Bowl incident in which Jackson's breast was exposed during a performance with Timberlake.
Spears and Timberlake first met when they were both adolescents starring in "The All New Mickey Mouse Club."
The "Lucky" singer also reveals in her memoir that she shared a kiss with Timberlake in the early 1990s when the cast of the show played Truth Or Dare during a sleepover.
"[Once] at a sleepover, we played Truth or Dare, and someone dared Justin to kiss me," she writes, according to an excerpt pubilshed by People. "A Janet Jackson song was playing in the background as he leaned in and kissed me."