Britney Spears fans have found new meaning in the pop star’s 2003 song “Everytime” after she recently revealed that she had an abortion during her relationship with Justin Timberlake.
The “Toxic” singer, 41, who dated the NSYNC frontman from 1998 to 2002, wrote about the “agonising” decision in her forthcoming memoir, The Woman in Me, which is released on 24 October.
In excerpts published by People, Spears implied that she had gone through with the abortion because Timberlake had wanted her to, telling her that “we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young”.
Since the revelation was published on Tuesday (17 October), fans have begun to wonder if “Everytime”, which has long been assumed to be about her relationship with Timberlake, also alludes to the terminated pregnancy.
During the song’s chorus, Spears croons: “And every time I try to fly, I fall / Without my wings, I feel so small / I guess I need you, baby / And every time / I see you in my dreams / I see your face, you’re haunting me / I guess I need you, baby.”
In the accompanying music video, which came out in 2004, Spears is seen walking through a hospital room, where one woman has just given birth and another has died. One of the final shots is a close-up of the newborn.
“The baby in the ‘Everytime’ music video was the baby Britney felt forced to abort. My heart,” one person hypothesised on X/Twitter.
“‘Everytime’ by Britney Spears has a whole different meaning now,” a second commented.
A third opined that the song was like a “lullaby saying how she needs her baby”.
Another observed: “The way Britney Spears touches her belly at the end of ‘Everytime’ while looking at the mum and her baby has me bawling after reading that part of the book.”
Timberlake and Spears were in a highly publicised relationship for three years, after meeting on the set of the All-New Mickey MouseClub in 1992. They first went public with their romance in 1999.
The pair officially broke up in 2002, shortly after Timberlake released his hit solo debut single, “Cry Me a River”. At the time, the music video for the song – which featured a woman with blonde hair – sparked rumours that he and Spears had broken up because she cheated on him.
However, Timberlake opted not to address cheating speculations in 2022, while revealing during an interview with Barbara Walters that he and Spears agreed not to not to “say specifically why” they went their separate ways.
“We’re not perfect. I don’t judge anybody. It’s just young love,” he said. “It was a very intense relationship, that’s for sure.”
Both the audio and print versions of The Woman in Me will be released on 24 October.
