Sister, sister, never knew how much drama we missed over the years.
Amid the ongoing Spears family feud, Jamie Lynn Spears' memoir, Things I Should Have Said, was finally released Jan. 18, with the Zoey 101 star sharing more details about her strained relationship with big sister Britney Spears.
The book's release comes on the heels of the sisters' clash on social media following Jamie Lynn's interview with ABC News in which she alleged Britney had locked the two of them in a room together with a knife. The "Stronger" singer took to Twitter to respond to the shocking claim, denying it ever occurred and saying her 30-year-old sister had "stooped to a whole new level of LOW."
In Things I Should Have Said, Jamie Lynn goes even more in-depth about the alleged incident, as well as her account of Britney's conservatorship battle, writing, "We were a tight-knit family torn apart by money, distorted truths, and undisclosed personal issues."
But as those matters now play out in public, Britney has delivered an even stronger message to her sister by sending a cease and desist letter over her memoir and recent interviews.
"We write with some hesitation because the last thing Britney wants is to bring more attention to your ill-timed book and its misleading or outrageous claims about her," Britney's attorney Matthew S. Rosengart says in the letter. "Although Britney has not read and does not intend to read your book, she and millions of her fans were shocked to see how you have exploited her for monetary gain. She will not tolerate it, nor should she."
In addition to sharing her experiences with her sister, the Sweet Magnolias actress also opened up about her secret family turmoil, getting pregnant at 16 and her feud with her former Zoey 101 co-star Alexa Nikolas.
Here are the biggest bombshells we learned from Jamie Lynn's memoir:
Sixteen years old and pregnant when Britney Spears was placed under a conservatorship in February 2008, "I knew things were difficult for Britney, but I was wrapped up in my own life," Jamie Lynn, now 30, writes. "At the time, I supported her by remaining loyal to her, by listening to her and protecting her in whatever manner I could."
Looking back at that time period, she wondered, "Maybe I should have done more when I lived in California, but again, I was a child. Britney was the adult, and she had promised me she was fine. By accepting her declaration I enabled many of the behaviors that contributed to her downward spiral at that time."
Jamie Lynn then opened up her alleged role in the conservatorship, writing that several years into the court-ordered appointment, Britney asked her to "serve as the trustee for her two children only in the event that she would not be able to do so herself."
"This was separate from her team's request for me to reside as a trustee over her children's trust in the conservatorship," Jamie Lynn continued. "After several months and careful consideration, I decided to remove myself from that role, citing that the developing issues could potentially create a conflict. My role was to remain impartial and simply be a sister and aunt. I have never participated in the conservatorship as my sister's personal representative or her financial conservator."
Jamie Lynn later concluded, "If I am guilty of anything, it's of enabling the situation to continue by not speaking up earlier in her career. I often wonder if I had, would it have made any difference?"
In June of 2021, the world watched as a furious Britney spoke out for the first time about her 13-year conservatorship, revealing she was "not happy," that her family "should be in jail" and that she had been traumatized by her father, Jamie Spears, who was the conservator of her estate. (In a November report, Jamie's legal team wrote, "As he has done for her entire life, Jamie will do everything he can to protect and care for her.")
Jamie Lynn was also watching and said her sister "allowed an onslaught of hate that put me and my family at risk" when she made "sweeping allegations" about the Spears family. "At no point did my sister lift the veil on what or who is truly responsible for her challenges," Jamie Lynn wrote. "Her references to me left me reeling."
She continued, "When my sister spoke to the world about her feelings regarding my parents' purposeful strategy to garner fame, Britney's impassioned statements included the wrongdoings of everyone involved, without any reference to herself. I realized that until she wants help, nothing I say is going to sway the way she sees herself or her situation."
Feeling like she had "only ever had [Britney's] back" growing up, Jamie Lynn explained, "I continued to protect her until just recently, when she decided I didn't need protecting and threw me to the proverbial media wolves."
Still, despite the comments, Jamie Lynn said she supports what is best for Britney and is "only saddened that in her current state of mind, she is incapable of supporting me in the same way."
While the two sisters are currently in a war of words on social media, Jamie Lynn wrote in the book that she still loves and supports her sister.
"When the cameras turn away and everyone's moved on to the next headline, I will still be here for my sister, no matter what is said or done between us," she vowed.
Jamie Lynn also shared a text message purportedly from Britney (though she didn't specify when it was sent): "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." Britney has not commented on the alleged message.
Writing that she is praying "for the day she shares these words with the world," Jamie Lynn said, "I have no control over anything the media reports and cannot be held responsible for something I have absolutely no control over."
Ultimately, Jamie Lynn said her priority is the safety of her own two daughters, writing, "I'm not looking for pity. I want Britney and the world to know she isn't the only one who is left with the scars from our early years of delinquency and manipulation."
But, she added, "The years I spent protecting her and being the loyal sister have been in vain. The ambiguity of her conservatorship testimonies and social media postings have left me wondering what it was all for. I miss my sister, but I can't take the blame for things I haven't done."
While the Spears family was living together during the pandemic, Jamie Lynn alleged Britney verbally attacked her while she was holding her then 15-month-old daughter Ivey after she became enraged about something "trivial."
"She came at me screaming and getting up in my face while I was holding Ivey," Jamie Lynn claimed. "Despite my best efforts, Britney continued on the attack, and Maddie had to get in between us to protect her little sister."
While she and her two daughters were visibly shaken, Jamie Lynn said she decided "NO MORE!" after their mother Lynne Spears begged 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," Jamie Lynn wrote, adding that she felt the need to remove herself from the situation after that incident.
"My relationship with Britney and our struggles has nothing to do with the conservatorship, but rather the boundaries I put in place to maintain the welfare of me and my immediate family."
"Being the baby sister of Britney Spears is nothing like what people assume," Jamie Lynn wrote. "From the day I arrived, I became Britney's."
With a nine-year age gap between them, Jamie Lynn shared that Britney often felt more like a mom than a sister growing up.
"Britney became our momma's extra set of hands, and she did everything—bathing, feeding, playtime, and diaper changing," she recalled. "She pitched in whenever Momma needed help. Britney took on the responsibility of cleaning and dressing me, and she dedicated herself to making me look perfectly adorable every time. Momma was grateful to have Britney and acknowledges my sister was much better than she was at the girlie things. I grew up feeling like I had two mothers."
Calling Britney her "role model," Jamie Lynn said her sister encouraged her to pursue acting and helped her to develop "the confidence to perform in front" of others.
"Beyond the support and adoration, Britney was simply a terrific sister," she continued. "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."
"As a child, I realized early on that my sister's career usurped anything else in my family's life," Jamie Lynn explained. "The demands of her career, and my parent's focus on her, left me feeling if not insignificant, then inconsequential for years."
Writing that her parents placed an importance on fame and fortune, Jamie Lynn was told the family needed to keep her big sister "happy and productive" as her star continued to rise.
"I was so young as she emerged on the world stage that I didn't notice how things had begun to change," she explained. "My parents always expected me to do as I was told. At first that didn't seem unusual in the parent-child dynamic. But I was taught to defer to Britney or behave in a way that made things easier for her."
Jamie Lynn went on to allege that Lynne "reveled in the attention that came with being Britney's mother. People were more interested in who she was than ever before, and I think she loved that part of it." She also noted that she still has not read her mother's 2008 book, Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, because she witnessed "firsthand the difficulties that Momma and Britney suffered after my sister read it, and I wanted to avoid the possible outrage reading her words would evoke."
Jamie Lynn continued to notice changes in her sister's behavior, that she was becoming "someone I didn't recognize," but her parents would "reiterate she was fine and just Britney being Britney."
According to Jamie Lynn, Britney became "paranoid and erratic" and she recalled an alleged event.
"One time, she said to me, 'Baby, I'm scared,' and took a large knife from the kitchen, pulled me along to my room, and she locked us both inside," Jamie Lynn alleged. "She put the knife in the bedside table drawer and simply repeated, 'I'm scared.' She needed me to sleep beside her."
In an interview with ABC News promoting the book, Jamie Lynn said she felt "scared" during the alleged event, which she said resulted in her experiencing her "own panic attacks."
Britney responded to the shocking allegations on Twitter, denying the event ever happened.
"I've never been around you ever with a knife or would I ever even think to do such !!!" the "Stronger" singer wrote on Jan. 14. "The only knife I ever saw you with at home was cutting the biggest piece of squash I ever saw in my life and it was way too big for me to cut … So please please stop with these crazy lies for the Hollywood books !!!"
Jamie Lynn wrote that she first began noticing a change in Britney in late 2003 after her high-profile breakup with Justin Timberlake. Back in Louisiana for the holidays, Britney allegedly met up with her old classmate Jason Alexander on Christmas eve before she took the women in the family on a tropical vacation.
"Immediately, I noticed Britney was being secretive and keeping her distance," Jamie Lynn alleged. "She smoked a lot of cigarettes and drank cocktails. She wanted to be anywhere but with us. I was particularly pained by her shunning. After years of making me a priority and spending time together, my sister was now moving on without me."
After their trip ended, Britney immediately flew to Las Vegas with Jason and some other friends for New Year's Eve, with Jamie Lynn writing, "I just knew this was a bad idea. Something was way off with her. The last thing I said before she left was, 'Now don't go and marry Jason while you're there, Britney!' She rolled her eyes at me and said the equivalent of 'as if.' But sure enough, within hours we got word that in a haze of substance she had married him."
Jamie Lynn admitted she was embarrassed by the "whole fiasco," though to keep up appearances she pretended at the time it was blown out of proportion.
"Inside I was scared and unsure of how to manage," she wrote. "I felt abandoned. The marriage ended within hours, but the chaos of my sister's life was just beginning."
In the first chapter of Things I Should Have Said, Jamie Lynn recounted her memories of her father Jamie's relationship with alcohol and the "decidedly dysfunctional" home life it caused.
"He spent years in a cycle of bad behavior," she wrote. "Daddy never really stopped drinking, but sometimes he took breaks...He spent most of my life in that cycle of ruinous behavior. His bouts of drinking always caused me periods of torment and sorrow."
Before their divorce in 2002, Jamie Lynn said Jamie was often in and out of the house, which "never ceased to confuse" her. She continued to say she "was traumatized by the fallout of his alcohol abuse and developed anticipatory anxiety at the thought of him showing up drunk" to one of her events.
Jamie Lynn also resented her mother for caring "more about Daddy's feelings than doing the right thing."
"It would be many years before I could acknowledge and address the seeds of resentment—at Daddy for his drinking and at Momma for how she managed her life—that were planted during this time," she continued.
Jamie later attended rehab while Jamie Lynn was working on All That and she "slowly let him back into her life" as long as he wasn't drinking, among other stipulations. Jamie Lynn later wrote about her father's sobriety while addressing Britney's conservatorship.
"He helped get rid of the extortionists and conspirators in her life and had even committed to his sobriety in support of Britney," she claimed. "The conservatorship was just a small piece of his commitment to helping her. They stayed sober together, and seeing my father put Britney's needs ahead of his own desires helped my old resentments fade. 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."
Jamie Lynn revealed that it was through her Zoey 101 co-star Paul Butcher's family that Lynne Spears initially met Sam Lutfi, Britney's controversial ex-manager.
"He tried to lure Momma into some jewelry scheme, hawking stones on HSN," she wrote. "From the moment I met him, I knew he was bad news. I told Momma, 'He's creepy and makes my skin crawl.' I didn't want him anywhere near us. She met with him a second time and rejected his proposal."
Weeks later, Sam introduced himself as a friend of Lynne's when he met Britney at a nightclub, with Jamie Lynn alleging, "Britney became Sam's target, and he painstakingly dismantled her life. Slowly, Britney's previous team members were disappearing, and Sam began to take charge of everything in my sister's world. To me he seemed both pathological and manipulative."
In a statement provided to E! News by his lawyer, Sam denied Jamie Lynn's claim.
"Jamie Lynn is lying. I never met her or Lynne before I met Britney. Britney told me that she wanted her mother to be financially independent, because no matter how much assistance she gave her, it was never enough," Sam said. "So, I found a company willing to make Lynne the face of a cool jewelry line to be sold on QVC. It was not a "scheme"—I was not financially involved in any way. I was only trying to help. Lynne enjoyed the entire process until she decided to back out of the deal after a couple of months."
Jamie Lynn went on to say she was "uncomfortable" around Sam and tried to get him to leave Britney's house on several occasions.
"I was very suspicious of the situation. I sensed that drugs were readily available at the house," she claimed. "Although I never saw anything, my sister's erratic behavior was enough to make me cautious."
Noting Britney seemed "skittish" around the "intimidating" Sam, Jamie Lynn said he was removed from her life after the "Toxic" singer got "the help she needed... the conservatorship was enacted, and a restraining order was issued to protect Britney from Sam." (A permanent restraining order against Sam was granted in June 2019.)
"I have very little doubt that Sam was primarily responsible for complicating my sister's preexisting emotional trauma," Jamie Lynn stated.
"The spotlights on my sister were blinding and obscured her ability to recognize the dangers all around her—dangers that still exist," she added. "Sometimes I feel like Britney's light was too bright, and I should have done more to protect her."
In Netflix's 2021 documentary Britney Vs Spears, Sam denied allegations that he had drugged Britney, claiming, "We have 100 drug tests and blood tests the entire time I was with her, and she passed every single one of them." He also st
As Zoey 101 was ending, Jamie Lynn broke up with her first boyfriend Casper Aldridge, amid rumors that he was cheating on her. However, the pair briefly reconciled and that's when their daughter, Maddie, was conceived.
When she told Casper that she was pregnant, Jamie Lynn claimed that he thought it was a ploy and "insinuated I slept around and even if I was pregnant, maybe the baby wasn't his. He was the only person I had ever been intimate with." After he finally accepted the news, the young couple decided to tell her mom together, with Jamie Lynn ultimately dropping a handwritten note in front of Lynne.
"At first, Momma wasn't mad, but rather in a state of disbelief," Jamie Lynn recalled. "'But we just had the talk about all of that.' Her words were bittersweet. 'Jamie Lynn, you're my baby, having a baby.'" But the following day, when her father heard the news, Jamie's "anger brought out the sense of dread everyone felt about my situation."
"I was young, famous, unmarried, and pregnant—talk about a media s--tstorm," she explained. "I was basically throwing a grenade onto my well-constructed career path."
Between her parents and PR team, there was a lot of "fighting" going on about how to handle the situation, Jamie Lynn revealed. "Everyone around me just wanted to make this 'issue' disappear." Jamie wanted Jamie Lynn to move into a home for unwed mothers before giving the child up for adoption, while others suggested she undergo an abortion.
In the end, it wasn't her parents who stepped in to support the mother-to-be, but her business manager Lou Taylor telling everyone, "'Y'all can't force her to abort the baby,'" Jamie Lynn revealed. "She was the first and only person on my team to show any support for my desire to keep my baby."
Jamie and Lynne have yet to comment on Jamie Lynn's book.
Jamie Lynn claimed PR team was so concerned about the pregnancy news leaking that they took away her phone and ultimately set up an exclusive interview with OK! Magazine to break the story on their terms. And it was through that article that Britney found out she was going to be an aunt.
"They went so far as hiding my pregnancy from my sister, claiming, 'It's too risky to tell Britney about the baby,'" Jamie Lynn wrote. "I needed her more than ever and she wasn't able help me in my most vulnerable time. Britney's condition was spiraling into something more concerning. They were concerned her instability at that time made her untrustworthy."
Of the way her sister learned the news, Jamie Lynn said, "To this day, the hurt of not being able to tell my sister myself lingers."
After getting her start on Nickelodeon's popular sketch comedy series All That, Jamie Lynn nabbed her own show on the network when Zoey 101 debuted in 2005. "Unfortunately, the camaraderie of the show's stars didn't always transfer into real life," Jamie Lynn admitted.
Because she was closer to Kristin Herrera, Jamie Lynn alleged their co-star Alexa Nikolas became jealous and began spreading rumors about her on set that lead to her crying many times after work.
"At first it was small lies—things like people saying I was mean or bitchy," she wrote. "Everyone was telling me that Alexa was the one making the false claims. I went to the producers to share my concerns. Then the rumors took on a more sinister feel. I got a feeling that a few people on the set were trying to stir the pot and perhaps cause trouble between me and Alexa."
Jamie Lynn said the rumors went away after Herrera was replaced by Victoria Justice in season two, the cast "learning changes could be made at any time, and I wasn't experiencing any whispers or unpleasant looks."
But when a story about Jamie Lynn having lice began circulating, the star's big sister stepped in and allegedly confronted Alexa in a trailer.
"Britney told her that she wouldn't keep jobs if she continued to treat people that way," Jamie Lynn alleged. "Alexa scurried away from the trailer. After that chat Alexa didn't blatantly bully me, and once season two was in the can, she was dismissed from the show."
As for Alexa, she claimed on Instagram to not be friends with the Nickelodeon star and unfollowed Jamie Lynn on social media because she "felt that the whole Britney Spears family situation was deeply saddening."
"I wish I could go back in time and tell my 12-year-old self that you are actually extremely lucky to not have a friend like her," she wrote. "You are way better off without her. You don't need toxic people like that in your life and you deserve better. And that's the truth on that. I don't mind saying all the things I should say for free."
Addressing Alexa's ongoing claims that she was bullied on the set of Zoey 101, Jamie Lynn said she tried take the high road and ignored the story for years.
"I don't remember ever bullying anyone, especially a coworker on set," she asserted. "Considering the cruel way I felt that she treated me and tried to turn the cast and crew against me, her claims seemed designed to garner attention once her fame had waned. I can't control how she perceived our dynamic, but I can say I wouldn't have hurt her on purpose."
Alexa recently took to social media to address Jamie Lynn's comments, writing on Instagram, "It's sad to see someone not change after all these years." (Here is a rundown of their complicated relationship.)
While rumors spread that Zoey 101 was canceled because of Jamie Lynn's pregnancy, the star refuted the claim.
"Nothing could be further from the truth. The final episode of Zoey was filmed months before I even became pregnant," she explained. "When the news of my pregnancy was released, Nickelodeon supported me in my decision. The executives were only concerned for my well-being. We continue to share a professional and respectful relationship and I will always be grateful for their faith in me and the support of my family."
During the pandemic, the cast of the series reunited for the first time since the finale aired in 2008, with Spears revealing talks of an official revival are still underway.
"I am excited at the prospect of working on another Zoey 101 project, whether that be a long-format movie or series," Jamie Lynn shared. "The cast is eager to reunite and bring the characters into the present. We have been in talks to reinvent the series. Producers and writers have shared some concepts that sound intriguing. Hopefully a modern-day version will go into production soon."
Jamie Lynn as Bella Swan? It could have happened as the Sweet Magnolias actress revealed she had a meeting just before learning she was pregnant.
"I went in to read for a potential blockbuster movie about teen vampires. Even the premise of Twilight sounded completely ridiculous," Jamie Lynn wrote. "Walking in, I turned to Momma and said, 'This concept doesn't seem like something that people are going to buy into.' But I ignored my discomfort, nibbling on crackers to soothe my roiling stomach, and waited my turn."
Noting she saw Lily Collins from across the room while waiting to meet with the casting team, Jamie Lynn continued, "I felt so sick that once I was called in, I couldn't give my reading the respect or enthusiasm it required. I was always one for professionalism, so my lack of effort was alarming. I needed to leave." It would be Jamie Lynn's last audition before she left Los Angeles to return to Louisiana.
Jamie Lynn revealed she "adored" Justin Timberlake, who she first met when Britney co-starred with him on The Mickey Mouse Club in the early '90s and became close to when the pop stars began dating in 1999.
"He wasn't just my sister's boyfriend. Justin was my first example of a kind and generous young man," she wrote. "He and my sister were happy together for a long time...Justin was always so sweet to me, and his relationship with Britney was the only one in my life that gave me a sense of stability. That may sound strange considering how it ended, but from my perspective, they adored each other and made me a part of their relationship in the best of ways."
Noting that the 'N Sync member treated her like a little sister and "doted" on her, Jamie Lynn said she has many memories of the three of them being together and appreciated Britney allowing her to tag along as their third wheel.
When Justin and Britney broke up in 2002, Jamie Lynn said she was "deeply affected "because, "The constancy of their relationship provided the best example of a loving couple I had ever seen. I was completely heartbroken when it was over and believed that it was a devastating loss in Britney's life as well."
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Things I Should Have Said: Family, Fame, and Figuring it Out by Jamie Lynn Spears
For more bombshells, check out the highly-talked about memoir for yourself.