Jamie Lynn Spears is opening up about her own painful past.
In this week’s new episode of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, Britney Spears‘ younger sister told co-star Fred Sirieix what it was like growing up in the spotlight and the challenges that came with getting pregnant at an early age.
Despite the so-called ban preventing her from discussing her sis, the Sweet Magnolias star didn’t hold back when asked how the Spears girls got so famous, sharing:
“My mom [Lynne Spears] literally believed that we were the best in the world. I think [when] we grew up, all we ever did was sing and dance. That was kind of our whole household. That’s how we were.”
It also helps that Britney — who’s nearly 10 years older!!! — paved the way for her! Funny how she lets that little detail slide… LOLz!
Related: J Balvin Spills Details On Dinner With Britney Spears!
As we all know, following in her sister’s footsteps, Jamie Lynn joined the industry as a kid first in Nickelodeon‘s All That and then heading up her own series, Zoey 101. But it all came crashing to a halt when she got pregnant at 16 with her first child:
“I got pregnant and I decided to keep the baby. I had a baby and the whole world was like, ‘You’re a s**t. You’re horrible. Your life’s over.’ I got pregnant young. I was on a kids’ show. They had a lot going on, but I think [my parents] were just sad that I was in that situation. But also, it’s your baby having a baby.”
The 32-year-old went on to recall how she “had to hide away for a long time” when the press became unbearable — but moving out of Cali didn’t even help. She dished:
“I moved to Mississippi and literally hid. I put a gate around me. I had 20 paparazzi on me every day. They wouldn’t leave me alone. They came and lived in Mississippi in the middle of nowhere. It was horrible. I hated it so much. I just wanted to be normal, because I wanted my baby to be normal.”
Something the sisters can relate to! But issues with Britney were far from her biggest problem at the time. She was more concerned with all the haters criticizing the pregnancy. The actress recalled how “everybody told me I was going to be a horrible mom, so I was like, ‘I gotta raise this baby by myself.’ And so I did.” And this meant walking away from her family!
Because her parents, including dad Jamie Spears, “didn’t want me to have the baby,” she threatened to distance herself from her family and secretly got to work trying to get emancipated. Acknowledging Lynne didn’t want her to follow through with it “because she knew that I would probably marry the father of this child [Casey Aldridge] and lose my fortune that I had amassed over the years working since I was very young,” she explained:
“I was secretly telling [my mom] I was going to doctor’s appointments and stuff like that, and I was going and meeting with a lawyer. I told them I was going to get gas one day, but I went and met the lawyer. I showed up to the house with the lawyer. He followed me there and she was like, ‘Oh my god!’ My poor mom. We put her through it.”
Pretty brutal, that’s for sure. But Lynne ultimately let her make her own decisions without this dramatic legal filing:
“She was like, ‘Just go, baby. You don’t to do, you know [get emancipated], just go.’”
Wow! Of course, Jamie Lynn’s maintained a much better relationship with her parents over the years — especially compared to the pop star! Still, she had to go through this rocky phase to come out stronger, she dished:
“It was the first time in the world I had no one else. It was like I was in control… I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Why I wouldn’t take the easy route sometimes, but I just don’t want to.”
It all worked out, though! The Follow Me singer is now married to Jamie Watson and has a 5-year-old Ivey with him plus her now-15-year-old firstborn, Maddie. In a confessional, the Zoey 102 lead insisted she has no regrets:
“I’m proud of where I’m at now. I don’t share in the way of being sad or crying about it. I’m really thankful.”
As for where she and the Toxic artist stand now?? She claimed:
“I think every family fights and has their stuff. I talked to her before I came here. We love each other.”
Huh…
Wild how she went from not being able to discuss the Grammy winner to spilling all this tea!! While their upbringings were certainly different, it’s a shame these sisters don’t see eye-to-eye since they both have a lot in common in terms of how they dealt with the paps! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know (below)!
[Image via GMA/NickRewind/YouTube & Jamie Lynn Spears/Instagram & WENN/Avalon]