13 Emotional Details Jamie Lynn Spears Revealed About Britney Spears & The Conservatorship In Her Book
She's speaking her truth.
Kathy Hutchins / Tinseltown / Shutterstock With the release of Jamie Lynn Spears's memoir 'Things I Should Have Said,' the 30-year-old actress has started sharing more details about her strained relationship with older sister, Britney Spears.
The tell-all book details Jamie Lynn's life and career, her relationship with her family, especially her father, Jamie Spears, how she fell pregnant while starring on 'Zoey 101' and ultimately became a teen mom.
Most importantly, Jamie Lynn writes about watching Britney's long-winded battle with her conservatorship, and watching it finally come to an end.
In both the book, and the presiding press interviews she's done, Jamie Lynn opens up about being Britney's sister, and her own recount of watching the conservatorship battle tear apart her family.
"We were a tight-knit family torn apart by money, distorted truths, and undisclosed personal issues," Jamie Lynn wrote in her book.
Here are 13 shocking things Jamie Lynn Spears has revealed about Britney Spears.
1. Jamie Lynn emphasizes that Britney was a 'role model,' despite fame complicating their relationship.
In her memoir, Jamie Lynn shared that Britney was not only her little sister, but also a "second mother."
"Beyond the support and adoration, Britney was simply a terrific sister," she writes. "That’s not just me paying homage to a living legend. For many years, she was good at keeping her persona out of our sisterhood."
"The rest of it – the stardom, talent, and turbulent media – that’s got very little to do with the sister I love. The only reason I mention the gossip that’s been reported in the tabloids is to say that so much of what has been written about her is a diluted version of the truth."
2. Jamie Lynn Spears considered Justin Timberlake a father figure.
During Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake's relationship, which lasted from 1999 to 2002, Jamie Lynn had just been a child, but remembers how much she "adored" Timberlake, and how the breakup was devastating for Britney.
"The constancy of their relationship provided the best example of a loving couple I had ever seen," she explains. "I was completely heartbroken when it was over and believed that it was a devastating loss in Britney’s life as well."
3. Jamie Lynn found out about Britney's mental breakdown by reading tabloids.
In a podcast interview on "Call Her Daddy," Jamie Lynn discusses the part in her book where she recalled her sister shaving her own head at an LA barbershop while paparazzi filmed her in 2007.
This infamous moment was watched by many online — including Jamie Lynn who was with friends from her high school at the time.
"We got home... and [my friends] were like, 'Oh my God, Jamie Lynn. Do you want to see this?"
“I really don't even know what I said,” a tearful Jamie Lynn shared. “I can't recall. I kind of just acted like it wasn't that big of a deal, but it was a huge deal."
4. Jamie Lynn described Britney's behavior as "erratic," "paranoid," and "spiraling" in her memoir.
In a Nightline interview, Jamie Lynn was asked to describe Britney's mental state, and how she perceives her sister's behavior to be in the present.
"I can't really speak to anyone else's state of mind...but I'm allowed to say how I felt in those [times] because that matters. It matters that I was in pain," Jamie Lynn said.
5. Jamie Lynn claims to have been unaware of Britney's conservatorship.
Jamie Lynn wrote in her book that she believed the conservatorship was placed over her sister because Britney "became a target for unsavory and duplicitous people."
"My sister didn’t seem well, and those closest to her at the time, especially my parents, believed the conservatorship was the best way to protect her and the fortune she had amassed throughout her career," Jamie Lynn wrote.
"I think their only intent was to keep her safe at a time when she couldn’t do that for herself."
"I was sixteen years old and getting ready to deliver my first child. I knew things were difficult for Britney, but I was wrapped up in my own life," she continued.
6. Jamie Lynn says she doesn't understand how her father became Britney's conservator.
While on "Call Her Daddy," host Alex Cooper asked Jamie Lynn how her father, Jamie Spears, was appointed conservator of Britney's estate despite his issues as a parent.
“I don’t know, you’d have to ask the fricking state of California.”
“I do think that obviously someone found a need for something,” she added, “but who am I to say? That's obviously a legal thing that had to go through a lot of approval.”
7. Jamie Lynn shared a story where Britney took a knife and locked them in a room.
In her book, Jamie Lynn alleged that Britney had locked them in a room with a knife, and during her an interview on 'Good Morning America,' Jamie Lynn was asked why she would share that moment to the public.
"It’s important to remember that I was a kid in that moment," Jamie Lynn said. "I was scared. That was an experience I had, but I also was fearful to, like, really say anything because I didn’t want to upset anybody but also was so upset that she didn’t feel safe."
RELATED: Jamie Lynn Spears Defends Daughters From Disturbing Threats After Britney Spears Put Her On Blast
Britney denied the story, tweeting, "I've never been around you ever with a knife or even would I ever even think to do such...only a scum person would make up such things about someone."
8. Jamie Lynn said Britney asked her to be a trustee for her children.
During her interview with 'Good Morning America,' Jamie Lynn shared that Britney had asked her to look after her two sons, whether she was in the conservatorship or not.
"There was a time where my sister asked me, of her trust and will, if I would be the person who assured that her boys got what they needed. Whether she's in a conservatorship or not, that was a very normal thing, I thought," Jamie Lynn said.
9. Jamie Lynn claimed she tried to help Britney get out of her conservatorship.
During an interview with Nightline, Jamie Lynn detailed that she was actively trying to help free Britney from her conservatorship battle.
"[I] went out of my way to make sure that she had the contacts she needed to possibly go ahead and end this conservatorship," Jamie Lynn said. "I did take the steps to help but how many times can I take the steps...she has to walk through the door."
10. Jamie Lynn says Jamie Spears would take sobriety tests with Britney.
In her book, Jamie Lynn talks at length about her father's alcohol abuse but says things turned a corner when Britney was getting sober.
"They stayed sober together, and seeing my father put Britney's needs ahead of his own desires helped my old resentments fade," Jamie wrote.
"For a period of time, the conservatorship mandated that Britney be drug and alcohol tested on a regular basis. My father volunteered to do it with her in solidarity."
11. Jamie Lynn wrote in her book that Britney apologized for being upset about the conservatorship.
In her memoir, Jamie Lynn wrote that Britney had texted her, saying, "I know it’s not your fault and I’m sorry for being so angry at you. Although I’m your big sister, I need you more than you need me and always have."
“I pray for the day she shares these words with the world,” Jamie Lynn wrote of Britney’s alleged apology. “I have no control over anything the media reports and cannot be held responsible for something I have absolutely no control over.”
12. Jamie Lynn said that during the pandemic Britney yelled at her in front of Jamie's children.
"She came at me screaming and getting up in my face while I was holding Ivey," Jamie Lynn said during an interview with Nightline. "Despite my best efforts, Britney continued on the attack, and Maddie had to get in between us to protect her little sister."
Jamie Lynn also claimed that their mother told her not to upset Britney.
"I couldn't believe she was asking me to put my feelings and those of my children aside to, once again, pacify my sister."
13. Jamie Lynn revealed that Britney found out about her pregnancy with the rest of the world.
Jamie Lynn recalled, in her memoir, that her team "went so far as hiding my pregnancy from my sister, claiming 'It's too risky to tell Britney about the baby.'"
"I needed her more than ever and she wasn’t able help me in my most vulnerable time. … They were concerned her instability at that time made her untrustworthy," Jamie Lynn wrote.
"I went along with what my team told me to do because I was a minor and didn’t want to create any more issues. Britney learned of the pregnancy when the article (from OK! magazine, breaking the pregnancy news) was released. To this day, the hurt of not being able to tell my sister myself lingers."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.