Before the Oct. 24 release of Britney Spears’ memoir, The Woman In Me, fans are getting to read snippets from the book that cover her tumultuous rise to fame and infamous romance with Justin Timberlake. In one such excerpt obtained by People, Spears relived that chapter of her life by revealing details about experiences she’s never talked about until now.
In Spears and Timberlake’s heyday, their love seemed perfect from the outside as they became staples of early 2000s pop culture, both individually and together. But their messy public breakup in 2002 had fans questioning everything, not to mention the back-and-forth that followed. In case you need to get caught up on the tea before The Woman In Me comes out, here’s a full recap of Spears and Timberlake’s relationship timeline.
1999: Spears and Timberlake begin dating
Around seven years after their meet-cute as kids on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1992, Spears and Timberlake made their first public appearance as a couple in 1999. The following year, they attended the 2000 MTV VMAs together where they held hands the entire night.
The romance had been years in the making, since Spears and Timberlake previously kissed each other on a dare during a Mickey Mouse Club cast sleepover.
Jan. 8, 2001 – Spears and Timberlake rock matching denim outfits on the AMAs red carpet
Today, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anything that looks remotely like this. But back then, it was the vibe. Arguably, early 2000s fashion as a whole can be summarized with this one picture.
March 2002 – Spears reveals she’s single again
Remember Spears’ short venture into acting with the coming-of-age film Crossroads? She actually admitted that she was “not in an intense relationship with anyone at the moment” during a press conference promoting this movie, breaking fans’ hearts in the process.
Nov. 25, 2002 – Timberlake disses Spears in “Cry Me A River”
Timberlake remained neutral about Spears and their breakup during an appearance on 20/20. He described their relationship as “young love” and clarified that he “[doesn’t] judge anybody.” However, Timberlake’s timeless 2002 smash hit “Cry Me A River” and its music video told a different story. He seemed to insinuate that Spears had cheated on him, which caused their romance to fall apart.
May 10, 2004 – Spears responds to Timberlake with “Everytime”
Fans have speculated that “Everytime,” a single from Spears’ fourth studio album In The Zone, was a response to “Cry Me A River.” In the song, she apologized to a former lover and asked for forgiveness. However, after learning that Spears had an abortion while dating Timberlake, some fans now think “Everytime” is about the pregnancy she terminated rather than her breakup from Timberlake.
June 23, 2021 – Timberlake tweets his support of the #FreeBritney Movement
Almost a decade later, Timberlake and Spears seemed to put their loaded history aside, when he acknowledged that the #FreeBritney movement was an issue of human rights and body autonomy.
October 2023 – Spears talks about her Past pregnancy with Timberlake for the first time
In a preview of The Woman In Me released this week, fans recently learned that Spears faced an unexpected pregnancy while dating Timberlake and ended up getting an abortion. Though Timberlake allegedly had more influence on the final decision, the couple simply didn’t feel ready to raise a child.
Spears described the experience as “agonizing,” and I don’t even blame her.
According to TMZ, Spears also revealed in her book that Timberlake cheated on her with “another celebrity” but doesn’t give a name.
If this is what we’re finding out from the excerpts before the release, I can’t even begin to imagine what else she’ll uncover in The Woman In Me.