A look back at Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake's relationship
Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears' relationship has been thrust into the spotlight once again, thanks to the release of her memoir The Woman In Me. In it, she details the time they spent together, and many of the highs and lows of their dating life, which was short-lived but tumultuous.
Here's a look back at Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake's relationship timeline.
1993
Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears both land their first roles in the spotlight on The Mickey Mouse Club variety show, along with the likes of Ryan Gosling and Christina Aguilera.
As revealed by Britney in The Woman In Me, they share their first kiss when "we played a game of Truth or Dare, and someone dared Justin to kiss me. A Janet Jackson song was playing in the background as he leaned in and kissed me.”
1998
Britney joins *NSYNC as an opening act on their *NSYNC in Concert tour, where it's thought she and Justin reconnected following their Disney days.
1999
While explaining how she signed to her record label, Jive Records, aged 15, Britney's memoir reveals she and JT had been living together and in a relationship, which was in contrast to the innocent image they wanted her to portray.
"Given that I had so many teenage fans, my managers and my press people had long tried to portray me as an eternal virgin - never mind that Justin and I had been living together, and I'd been having sex since I was 14," she says in the book.
Britney also explains that she was "so in love with him it was pathetic," when speaking about Justin.
January 2001
The pair attend the American Music Awards in their unforgettable matching double denim outfits. "I still can’t believe that Justin was going to wear denim and I said, ‘We should match! Let’s do denim-on-denim!'" Britney's book says.
"At first, honestly, I thought it was a joke... The stylist brought Justin’s all-denim outfit, including a denim hat to match his denim jacket and denim pants. When he put it on, I thought, 'Whoa! I guess we’re really doing this!'"
2001
Britney releases 'I'm A Slave 4 U', which is reportedly about Justin, while the pair also perform at the Super Bowl XXXV Halftime Show together.
In an interview with The Observer, Britney opened up about the relationship, saying, "I'm not ashamed at all to say that I love him from the bottom of my heart. As far as love is concerned, with him, too much is not enough. He's everything," she mused.
"It is a deeper love now than when I was younger. Like, we've gone through so much together and we've known each other since we were 12 years old. We know each other inside and out."
March 2002
After three years together, TMZ allege that Britney was unfaithful to Justin and the pair are hit by break up rumours, which Britney later confirms during the Crossroads film press tour. As per Entertainment Weekly, she tells journalists ”I would not say I was in an intense relationship with anyone at the moment", while she later appeared on Big Breakfast and confirmed, "I’m single … right now."
In The Woman In Me, Britney alleges Justin broke up with her while she was filming the music video for 'Overprotected', sending her a text which read, "It’s over!!!”
December 2002
Justin releases 'Cry Me A River', which features a blonde woman in the music video, and contains lyrics like, "You don't have to say, what you did / I already know, I found out from him / Now there's just no chance / For you and me / There'll never be / And don't it make you sad about it?"
In his 2018 book Hindsight: & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me, he said of the breakup song, "I’ve been scorned. I’ve been pissed off. I wrote ‘Cry Me a River’ in two hours. I didn’t plan on writing it. The feelings I had were so strong that I had to write it, and I translated my feelings into a form where people could listen and, hopefully, relate to it."
November 2003
Interviewer Diane Sawyer probes Britney over allegations she cheated on Justin, asking her, "You did something that caused him so much pain … so much suffering. What did you do?"
Britney replies, "I was upset for a while. We both are really young and it was kind of waiting to happen. I will always love him … he is such a great person."
When asked if she "betrayed" the relationship, Britney replies, "I’m not technically saying he's wrong, but I'm not technically saying he's right either."
Later that month, Britney released 'Everytime,' which fans took as an apology song in response to 'Cry Me A River', considering the reference to rain.
Lyrics included: "I may have made it rain / Please, forgive me / My weakness caused you pain / And this song's my sorry."
2006
Justin releases diss track 'What Goes Around... Comes Around', which many take as a direct attack on Britney, as it coincides in a timely manner with several paparazzi incidents and her divorce from Kevin Federline. Lyrics include: "Hey, girl, is he everything you wanted in a man? / You know I gave you the world (world) / You had me in the palm of your hand / So why your love went away."
During the press tour for the album, he also confirms 'Cry Me A River' was about Britney in an interview with GQ (via CBS News). "I felt like she had a couple of opportunities to just sort of stick up for me, and she didn't. Which is fine. But at that time, you know, I fought back, and that's the way I fought back. I used my mind. I came up with a song."
2013
Justin Timberlake reportedly calls Britney out during a show in New Orleans, when he intros 'Cry Me A River' by saying, "Sometimes in life, you think you found the one. But then one day you find out that she is just some bitch."
Later, he takes to X, formerly known as Twitter, to deny that's the case, tweeting, "Wouldn’t disrespect ANYONE personally. Ever. #Relax #ItsBritneyBitch I do love that saying though *with accent* #Respect"
2021
Almost 10 years later, Framing Britney Spears - a documentary about the singer's conservatorship is released - and after receiving criticism for his behaviour, Justin apologies for not publicly supporting Britney more.
In an extended Instagram post addressing the allegations that he demonised her in the press and with his song lyrics / music videos in a bid to benefit his own career, he wrote:
"I specifically want to apologise... because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed. I also feel compelled to respond, in part, because everyone involved deserves better and most importantly, because this is a larger conversation that I wholeheartedly want to be part of and grow from . . . I know this apology is a first step and doesn't absolve the past. I want to take accountability for my own missteps in all of this as well as be part of a world that uplifts and supports. I care deeply about the wellbeing of the people I love and have loved. I can do better and I will do better."
October 2023
Britney releases her memoir Woman In Me. One of the bombshell revelations is the suggestion that she and Justin got pregnant during their time together, but decided to not keep the baby.
In her memoir, Britney explains, per TMZ, that she was "conflicted" about the decision but after "difficult, emotional discussions," she and Justin "both agreed getting an abortion was the right decision."
You Might Also Like
