Memoir

Despite the hectic times surrounding the release of Spears’ fifth studio album, Blackout, she still considers it her favorite. She writes, “Blackout, the thing I most proud of my whole career, came out right around Halloween in 2007.” 

The career-defining album featured hits “Gimme More,” “Break the Ice” and “Piece of Me.” 

She performed “Gimme More” at the 2007 MTV VMAs, but ahead of the set, wasn’t feeling great after having two babies, suffering from postpartum depression and a series of other issues behind the scenes.

“Backstage at the VMAs that night, nothing was going right,” she writes. “There was a problem with my costume and with my hair extensions. I hadn’t slept the night before. I was dizzy. It was less than a year since I had my second baby in two years, but everyone was acting like my not having six-pack abs was offensive. I couldn’t believe I was going to have to go out on stage feeling the way I felt.” 

To make matters worse, she also ran into her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake backstage, and everything resulted in her having a panic attack before going live.  

“I went out there and I did the best I could at that moment in time, which — yes, granted — was far from my best at other times,” she writes. “I could see myself on video throughout the auditorium while I performed; it was like looking at myself in a fun house mirror.” 

To add salt to the wound, following her unflattering performance, comedian Sarah Silverman made fun of her to the global audience. “She said that at the age of 25 I done everything worthwhile in my life I’d ever do,” Spears recalls. “She called my two babies ‘the most adorable mistake you’ll ever see.’ I didn’t hear that until later, though. At the time I was backstage sobbing hysterically.” 

Britney Spears has been through a lot, from her 13-year conservatorship to her strained relationships with estranged family members. But one of the most difficult times in her life was her breakup with Justin Timberlake, as revealed in her new memoir The Woman In Me.
The pop star and *NSYNC band member dated from 1999 to 2002, until Timberlake allegedly broke things off with Spears via text message. The time immediately after was dark for the “Toxic” singer, who writes in her memoir she “barely left the house” following the couple’s split.

“When Justin began making his first solo album, Justified, he started being very standoffish with me,” Spears recalled in her autobiographical book, released Tuesday (Oct. 24). “I think that was because he decided to use me as ammunition for his record, and so it made it awkward for him to be around me, staring at him with all that affection and devotion.”

“Ultimately, he ended our relationship by text message while I was on the set for the video for the ‘Overprotected’ remix by Darkchild,” she continued. “After seeing the message as I sat in my trailer between takes, I had to go back out and dance.”

Spears added that the breakup left her “devastated.” “When I say, devastated, I mean, I could barely speak for months,” she wrote. “Whenever anyone asked me about him, all I can do is cry. I don’t know if I was clinically in shock, but it felt that way.”

In her long-awaited memoir, the “Sometimes” artist dropped quite a few bombshells about her high-profile romance with her former Mickey Mouse Club castmate, beyond the depression she faced following their split. While they were together, for instance, she said she got an abortion because Timberlake wasn’t ready for fatherhood; she also admitted to having cheated on her then-boyfriend once with choreographer Wade Robson after finding out about the “Cry Me a River” singer’s alleged affairs with other women.

Those struggles didn’t stop Spears from loving Timberlake, though — even after they called it quits. While she was still grieving the relationship, Timberlake brought her a framed handwritten letter that she still keeps under her bed, the Princess of Pop shares in her book. “And at the end it said — it makes me want to cry to think about it — ‘I can’t breathe without you.’ Those are the last words in it,” she writes.

“It almost felt like I was suffocating,” she adds, “like I couldn’t breathe after all that happened. The thing is, though, even after I saw him and read the letter, I didn’t come out of the trance. He did all that, he came there to see me and I still couldn’t talk — to him or to anybody.”

As the release of Britney Spears‘ upcoming tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me, gets closer, more details from the long-awaited book are getting revealed.
Earlier this week, People revealed a shocking excerpt of the book in which the pop superstar had an abortion after an unexpected pregnancy with then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. In an extended excerpt published by The Associated Press, Spears went into further detail. “I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby. Abortion was something I never could have imagined choosing for myself, but given the circumstances, that is what we did,” she writes. “It was important that no one find out about the pregnancy or the abortion, which meant doing everything at home.”

She adds of the pain from the medication abortion was “excruciating.” “I kept crying and sobbing until it was all over,” she writes. “It took hours, and I don’t remember how it ended, but I do, twenty years later, remember the pain of it, and the fear.”

In a copy of the memoir obtained by Billboard, after describing her abortion experience, Spears added that she still has love for her ex-boyfriend, who she began dating in 1999 until their split in 2002. “After that, I was messed up for a while, especially because I still love Justin so much,” she writes. “It was insane how much I loved him, and for me, it was unfortunate.”

In the earlier excerpt published by People, Spears said that the pregnancy was a “surprise,” even thought she always “expected” to start a family with Timberlake. “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,” she wrote, adding, “To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.”

The Woman in Me arrives Oct. 24.

Britney Spears is gearing up to release her highly anticipated memoir The Woman in Me on Oct. 24, and the star took to X on Sunday (Oct. 15) to share some excerpts from the upcoming book. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I actually envy the people who know […]

Madison Beer shared the news on Wednesday (Feb. 15) that she’s coming out with her first-ever memoir, The Half of It.

“It feels truly surreal to be announcing this book and i am so excited to share my story with you in a way i never have before,” she posted on Instagram of the memoir, which hits bookshelves April 25 via HarperCollins. “From the reality of being signed at twelve, to everything that followed, where i am now, and my journey of reconciling with everything that came before. it has taken me a lot of extremely dark times to get here but i feel incredibly ready to tell you these chapters of my story. i hope you love it. i can’t wait to reintroduce myself to you.”

Showing a glimpse of The Half of It‘s title page, Beer shared the book’s dedications, which read: “For my mother, my brother, and my father—thank you. I know it hasn’t been easy. For the younger Madison I’m writing this about—thank you for getting me here. I hope I’ve made you proud.”

The pop singer’s mom, Tracie Beer, gave a sweetly emotional show of support for her daughter’s venture into autobiography in the comments section of the post, writing, “Me bawling like a baby… So incredibly proud of you & to be part of this journey alongside of you through it all!!!” and adding the hashtag, “#proudmom.”

Beer dropped her debut studio album, Life Support, back in Feb. 2021. When discussing the book reveal in an interview with People, she opened up about working on her soon-to-be-released sophomore follow-up.

“I am so excited for this next album which will be coming soon,” she teased. “Music has always been my first love; it’s what lead me to this memoir and what drives me daily. I am really excited for what is next with my music this year.”

Check out Beer’s memoir announcement — and get a first look at its vulnerable cover — below.