Britney Spears has reflected on her strained relationship with younger sister Jamie Lynn in her highly-anticipated upcoming memoir, The Woman in Me.
In a preview excerpt, the singer said that she’s trying to “feel more compassion” for her younger sibling amid the upheaval that the termination of her conservatorship has caused.
“She will always be my sister, and I love her and her beautiful family. I’m working to feel more compassion than anger toward her, and everyone who I feel has wronged me. It’s not that easy,” Britney wrote.
In the memoir, set to be released on 24 October, the pop star alleges that while growing up in Kentwood, Louisiana, Jamie Lynn “ruled the roost” and often spoke to her parents unkindly. Britney also claimed that her parents Jamie and Lynne’s favouritism towards Jamie Lynn left her feeling like a “ghost child”.
“I can remember walking into the room and feeling like no one even saw me,” Britney wrote.
Despite feeling alienated, Britney says that she still felt protective over Jamie Lynn and was a staunch supporter of her younger sister following in her footsteps in entertainment. In 2005, Jamie Lynn got her break as lead character of Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101.
Britney’s memoir also shares details of her conservatorship which she was involuntarily placed under in 2008. The singer alleged that she texted her younger sister for help, and that Jamie Lynn reportedly wrote back:“Stop fighting it… There’s nothing you can do about it, so stop fighting it.”
The “Toxic” singer described the words as a betrayal. “This will sound crazy, but I’ll say it again because it’s the truth: I thought they were going to try to kill me.
“I didn’t understand how Jamie Lynn and our father had developed such a good relationship. She knew I was reaching out to her for help and that she was dogging me. I felt like she should have taken my side.”
Britney’s conservatorship was terminated in 2021 and soon afterwards, Jamie Lynn published her own memoir, Things I Should Have Said.
Britney wrote: “My sister and I should have found comfort in each other, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case.
“As I was fighting the conservatorship and receiving a lot of press attention, she was writing a book capitalizing on it. She rushed out salacious stories about me, many of them hurtful and outrageous.”
Britney issued Jamie Lynn with a cease-and-desist letter barring her from “derogatorily” mentioning her during her book tour. But relations between the sisters appeared to have improved by last December, when the singer posted a birthday tribute to Jamie Lynn.
“It’s my b-day, but you’re my heart, so I’m thinking about you,” Britney wrote on Instagram in a since-deleted post. “Congratulations on being so brave, inspiring, and showing guts and glory in your show!!! You ain’t alone … if anybody knows what that feels like … I get it... My baby sister !!! I love you !!!”
