Jamie Lynn Spears talks candidly with the March issue of Glamour magazine about her teen pregnancy and her new album.
Jamie Lynn turns 21 this spring and shortly after, her daughter Maddie will turn 4. The famous mom and former ‘Zoe 101’ star is now ready to share a little about the past five years of her life away from the spotlight.
A few snippets from her interview with Glamour:
On getting pregnant at 16:
“It was 2007. I had been on a Nickelodeon show, Zoey 101, and after we wrapped shooting, I just wanted to go home to Louisiana and finish high school, be a cheerleader, all that. Then I found out I was pregnant [by then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge]. I was 16. I’d had one boyfriend. It doesn’t make it perfect or all right. But I was judged for something that probably most everyone does. I was young. I was in love. I was like every other teenager, except I had this last name. And I made a decision that is forever my decision.”
On why she wasn’t using birth control:
“I believe in safety and birth control as prevention. But like many young girls…I was really scared to go to the doctor. And I was on a Nickelodeon show, and it [felt] especially embarrassing to ask someone to put me on birth control. I didn’t want to ask my doctor, because she had a little girl.”
On how she felt towards her fans and the media:
“I did feel responsible for the young girls and the mothers who I probably confused and let down. I apologize for that. But I wasn’t trying to glamorize teen pregnancy. I hated when [the tabloids] said that. Everybody is dealt a hand of cards. It was my choice to play them the way I played them. But the hateful comments hurt.”
On her relationship with Casey Aldridge:
“There’s a slim chance of two young people making it through high school and all that drama, but making it as parents? We tried. We really wanted to do it right. We loved each other. I will love him as Maddie’s father until the day I die.”
On performing again:
“On the performance end, I take a lot of advice from my sister. But I expect the scrutiny. The last time anyone heard anything of me, I was 16 and pregnant. All I can do is be my best – there will always be people who will never like me.”
On her special relationship with Britney:
“[As for Britney], she’s in such a good place right now. She’s in love. She has her kids. So I’m happy for her. Of course [our bond as mothers], it’s such a big thing, you know? Especially ‘cause there’s an age gap there – she’s 10 years older. I think if I were just a normal 20-year-old, I wouldn’t be able to relate as much to her.”
On re-joining the music industry:
“I was a kid who did a kid show. Then I went away and raised my child, and the world has never met me as an adult. This is the first time anybody is really meeting me as a grown woman and grown mother making a decision about what to do with my life. Do people have an idea of who they think I am? Yes, and that’s fine with me. My music will speak for itself.”
**Just an FYI – that’s Amanda Seyfried in the cover shot on the left, not Jamie Lynn.
