Jamie Lynn Spears breaks down as she details rift with Britney and defends new book

Britney Spears’ younger sister Jamie Lynn broke down in tears as she admitted that she ‘doesn’t know’ why their once-loving relationship has become so strained – while plugging her new memoir in which she speaks out about her sibling’s ‘erratic, paranoid, and spiraling’ behavior. 

Speaking out for the first time since Britney’s controversial 13-year conservatorship was officially terminated in November, Jamie Lynn, 30, vehemently defended herself against accusations that she failed to assist her sibling in ending the guardianship, which was controlled largely by their father, Jamie. 

In the wake of furious criticism from Britney’s fans – and from the popstar herself – Jamie Lynn insisted that she never played a role in the conservatorship, and claimed that she actually tried to help her sister dissolve the arrangement on a number of occasions. 

‘When [the conservatorship] was put into place I was 17 years old [and] I was about to have a baby so I didn’t understand what was happening nor was I focused on that. I was focused on the fact I was a 17-year-old about to have a baby,’ she said during an appearance on Good Morning America.  

‘I [understood] just as little about it then as I do now.’ 

Britney Spears' younger sibling Jamie Lynn broke down in tears as she opened up about her rift with her sister during an appearance on Good Morning America on Wednesday

Britney Spears’ younger sibling Jamie Lynn broke down in tears as she opened up about her rift with her sister during an appearance on Good Morning America on Wednesday 

The 30-year-old insisted that she 'doesn't know' why her relationship with her sister, 40, has broken down, claiming that she has only 'ever loved and supported' Britney

The 30-year-old insisted that she 'doesn't know' why her relationship with her sister, 40, has broken down, claiming that she has only 'ever loved and supported' Britney

The 30-year-old insisted that she ‘doesn’t know’ why her relationship with her sister, 40, has broken down, claiming that she has only ‘ever loved and supported’ Britney

Jamie Lynn, an actress and mother-of-two, revealed that she actually took steps to try and help Britney end her 13-year conservatorship, which was overseen by their father, Jamie

Jamie Lynn, an actress and mother-of-two, revealed that she actually took steps to try and help Britney end her 13-year conservatorship, which was overseen by their father, Jamie

While fighting to end her father's conservatorship over her, Britney has accused her entire family - including Jamie Lynn (seen together in 2017) - of failing to help her

While fighting to end her father’s conservatorship over her, Britney has accused her entire family – including Jamie Lynn (seen together in 2017) – of failing to help her 

However, despite stating that she knew little about the ins and outs of the arrangement – which was put in place in 2008 after Britney had a mental breakdown, and which saw her father Jamie given complete control over her financial and personal health decisions – Jamie Lynn said that she made several attempts to try and help her sibling end the guardianship over the years. 

‘I’ve always been my sister’s biggest supporter so when she needed help I set up ways to do so,’ she said. 

In her new memoir, Things I Should Have Said, Jamie Lynn details her sister's behavior as 'erratic, paranoid, spiraling'

In her new memoir, Things I Should Have Said, Jamie Lynn details her sister’s behavior as ‘erratic, paranoid, spiraling’ 

‘[I] went out of my way to make sure that she had the contacts she needed to possibly go ahead and end this conservatorship and just end this all for our family. If it’s going to cause this much discord, why continue it? 

‘It wasn’t about [whether or not I agreed] with the conservatorship; everyone has a voice and it should be heard so if she wanted to talk to other people then I did, I set that up.’ 

Jamie Lynn also revealed that she agreed to speak with Britney’s ‘previous legal team’ to try and aid her sibling in her attempts to end the guardianship, however she admitted that the conversations ‘didn’t end well in her favor’. 

‘I even spoke to her… previous legal team and that did not end well in my favor. I did take the steps to help, but how many times can I take the steps without, you know… she has to walk through the door,’ she explained. 

According to Jamie Lynn, Britney also turned to her to ask for her help in ensuring that her two sons, Sean, 16, and Jayden, 15, were taken care of. 

‘There was a time where my sister asked me – of her trust and will – if I would be the person who assured that her boys got what they needed,’ the singer and actress shared. 

‘Whether she is in a conservatorship or not, that was a very normal thing, I thought.’ 

Jamie Lynn (pictured with her sister in 2003) claimed that she took several steps to try and help Britney end her conservatorship, including speaking with the popstar's legal team

Jamie Lynn (pictured with her sister in 2003) claimed that she took several steps to try and help Britney end her conservatorship, including speaking with the popstar’s legal team  

According to Jamie Lynn, her sister once 'asked me – of her trust and will – if I would be the person who assured that her boys [Sean and Jayden] got what they needed'

According to Jamie Lynn, her sister once 'asked me – of her trust and will – if I would be the person who assured that her boys [Sean and Jayden] got what they needed'

According to Jamie Lynn, her sister once ‘asked me – of her trust and will – if I would be the person who assured that her boys [Sean and Jayden] got what they needed’ 

Jamie Lynn, who has two daughters, went on to speak out about the rift between herself and Britney, insisting that she ‘doesn’t know’ why they are ‘in this position right now’ when all she has ‘ever’ done is ‘love and support’ her sister. 

‘That love is still there 100 per cent,’ she said. ‘I love my sister. I’ve only ever loved and supported her and done what’s right by her and she knows that so I don’t know why we’re in this position right now.’    

While fighting to end her conservatorship, Britney publicly criticized her family – including Jamie Lynn – on a number of occasions, accusing her relatives of failing to support her during her battle to end the guardianship, which was officially terminated by a California judge on November 12. 

In July last year, Britney spoke out about her sister’s performance at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards, during which Jamie Lynn performed a remix of her popstar sibling’s song Till the World Ends. 

‘I don’t like that my sister showed up at an awards show and performed my songs to remixes!’ Britney – who was honored at the awards show and was seen in the audience clapping along to her sister’s performance – wrote in a July 17 Instagram post. ‘My so-called support system hurt me deeply!’ 

Two days later, Britney publicly blasted her sister once again in a since-deleted post, in which she described Jamie Lynn as a ‘mean a**’ for failing to stand up to their estranged father. 

Speaking about her sister’s criticism of her Radio Disney performance, Jamie Lynn defended herself once again, insisting that she was ‘confused’ by Britney’s reaction and claiming that she only ever wanted to ‘honor’ the popstar’s legacy. 

During her GMA interview, Jamie Lynn also addressed her sister's criticism of her performance at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards, when she performed a remix of Britney's song (seen)

During her GMA interview, Jamie Lynn also addressed her sister’s criticism of her performance at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards, when she performed a remix of Britney’s song (seen)

Britney (pictured in the audience at the awards with her mother Lynne) said in July that she was 'deeply hurt' by Jamie Lynn's decision to 'perform her songs to remixes'

Britney (pictured in the audience at the awards with her mother Lynne) said in July that she was ‘deeply hurt’ by Jamie Lynn’s decision to ‘perform her songs to remixes’ 

‘Honestly, it was somewhat confusing to me about that,’ she said, adding that she has ‘actually spoken to her’ sister about the controversy and believes that Britney was never ‘personally upset with her’. 

‘I was doing a tribute to honor my sister and all the amazing things that she’s done. I have cleared up with the fact that I don’t think she’s personally upset with me about that. Truthfully I don’t know why that bothers her.’

Speaking about her own relationship with her estranged father Jamie (seen in 2008), 69, Jamie Lynn said that his 'drinking created a lot of anxiety' for her during her childhood

Speaking about her own relationship with her estranged father Jamie (seen in 2008), 69, Jamie Lynn said that his ‘drinking created a lot of anxiety’ for her during her childhood 

When asked about the way in which she describes her sister in her new memoir, Things I Should Have Said, which is due to be published on January 18, Jamie Lynn defended her decision to detail what she refers to as Britney’s ‘erratic, paranoid, and spiraling’ behavior, insisting that she ‘is allowed to say how she felt’. 

‘It was really important to me to first off honor my voice,’ she said. ‘[I felt like] I have to do it or how else can I expect my daughters to stand up for themselves?’ 

Although she said that it wouldn’t be ‘fair’ for her to try and describe Britney’s current ‘state of mind’, she added that she feels as though she has a right to detail how her relationship with her sibling – and her other relatives – impacted her own life over the years. 

‘I’m allowed to say how I felt because that matters. It matters that I was in pain,’ she said.

In her book, Jamie Lynn also speaks out about her estranged father Jamie, now 69, and his ‘struggles with alcohol’, writing that ‘his bouts of drinking always caused me torment and sorrow’. 

Speaking to GMA about her father’s relationship with alcohol, Jamie Lynn admitted that it ‘created a lot of anxiety’ for her, adding that Britney became like ‘another momma’ to her while they were growing up. 

Speaking about her family's reaction to the news that she was pregnant at 16 with daughter Maddie (now 13), Jamie Lynn says she was pressured to get an abortion

Speaking about her family’s reaction to the news that she was pregnant at 16 with daughter Maddie (now 13), Jamie Lynn says she was pressured to get an abortion 

Jamie Lynn, who has a second daughter, three-year-old Ivey, with husband Jamie Watson (pictured together with Maddie), says her family wanted to make her pregnancy 'disappear'

Jamie Lynn, who has a second daughter, three-year-old Ivey, with husband Jamie Watson (pictured together with Maddie), says her family wanted to make her pregnancy ‘disappear’

‘For me [my father’s drinking] created a lot of anxiety,’ she recalled. ‘The hardest part was like, “Could I trust you? Are you drinking? Are you not?” It was something that no kid should have to question.’

She added: ‘I adored [Britney], she just felt like everything to me. I felt like she was another momma.’ 

However, Jamie Lynn admitted that her sister’s global superstardom also had a devastating impact on her own childhood – particularly when it came to her discovery that she was pregnant with her first child at the age of 16. 

Jamie Lynn shared the news with her parents in December 2007, months before her sister’s very public meltdown, which sparked the implementation of her conservatorship, and she told GMA that the resulting public scrutiny made her situation all the more difficult to handle. 

‘I look back and I think, “Wow, how is this acceptable?”‘ she shared. ‘Why are you here other than to shame me and to benefit off a young girl who’s going through something already so traumatic and so deep and personal? We say we do better, but now we just go into the comments on Instagram and do it.’

In her memoir, the mother-of-two says she face intense pressure from her family to get an abortion, or to give her baby up for adoption, noting that ‘the entire Spears team was already caught up in my sister’s PR difficulties and everyone around me just wanted to make the issue [her pregnancy] disappear’. 

‘I think the easy thing for possibly them would have been like, “Let’s just get this over with and you go back to being the perfect little sister, because that’s your role,”‘ she told GMA host Juju Chang of her family’s reaction to her pregnancy. 

‘I just thank God that I stood up for myself and said exactly what I wanted.’

TIMELINE OF BRITNEY’S COMPLEX CONSERVATORSHIP AND HOW IT BEGAN

Britney with her father, brother and mother in 2006. Her parents separated

Britney with her father, brother and mother in 2006. Her parents separated 

2002: Jamie Spears and Lynne Spears divorce. 

Britney breaks up with Justin Timberlake around the same time.

2004: Britney marries Kevin Federline.

2005: Britney and Kevin welcome their first child, Sean Preston Federline. 

2006: Jayden James Federline, Britney and Kevin’s second child, is born. 

2007: Britney, struggling through a custody battle and split with Kevin, shaves her head and attacks a paparazzo’s car.

2008: Jamie Spears files for conservatorship of Britney, claiming she is not legally well enough to make her own decisions. 

Britney in 2008 for a custody hearing as part of her split with Kevin Federline

Jamie Spears in court in 2008 getting the conservatorship

Britney in 2008 for a custody hearing as part of her split with Kevin Federline. Jamie Spears in court in 2008 getting the conservatorship

2009-2019: QUIET CONSERVATORSHIP YEARS

The conservatorship – which had been temporary – is extended  every year. 

In court papers, Jamie’s attorneys describe how she is making more money. 

JANUARY 2019: THE ARRANGEMENT STARTS TO CRUMBLE

Britney in 2019, in the grips of the conservatorship, in Las Vegas at her residency

Britney in 2019, in the grips of the conservatorship, in Las Vegas at her residency

Britney announces an ‘indefinite’ work hiatus and cancels her lucrative Las Vegas residency.

Jamie files paperwork asking for the conservatorship to be extended beyond California, to apply in Hawaii, Louisiana and Florida as well.  

He steps down as her primary conservator after allegations he abused one of her sons but is still listed as one of those in charge. 

EARLY 2020: Britney, Jamie and Jamie-Lynne are in Louisiana together for two weeks.  

The #FreeBritney movement is picking up. 

Jamie’s attorneys claim everyone is happy together and enjoying spending time together in quarantine.  

NOVEMBER 2020: Britney’s attorneys claim in papers that she is afraid of her father and asks for Bessemer Trust to be put in charge. 

Her fans start speculating over her cryptic Instagram posts and videos that she wants a way out.  

DECEMBER 2020: The conservatorship is extended until September 2021.

FEBRUARY 5, 2021: Framing Britney Spears debuts on Hulu.

The conservatorship that Britney was put under is ordinarily used in situations where older, perhaps senile people, can no longer look after their own affairs. 

Fans are concerned for her well-being and have demanded that she be released from the control of her father, Jamie

Fans are concerned for her well-being and have demanded that she be released from the control of her father, Jamie

It gives control over to an appointed conservator for the best interest of the recipient but in most cases, the recipient is not healthy enough to make their own money, unlike Britney who makes millions. Under the rules of the probate conservatorship, Jamie now has equal control over her estate to a third party and an attorney, Andrew Wallet. 

Wallet derives a salary of $426,000 a year from Britney’s estate. 

He, Jamie and the third party who was brought on recently can make deals on her behalf and restrict her visitors.

JUNE 23, 2021 – BRITNEY SPEAKS OUT IN COURT  

Britney and her boyfriend Sam Asghari

Britney and her boyfriend Sam Asghari

In an emotional testimony, Britney told the court that she had suffered psychologically for years as a result of the conservatorship which she said was so restrictive, she wasn’t allowed to remove her IUD birth control. 

JUNE 30, 2021 – JUDGE DENIES BRITNEY’S REQUEST TO REMOVE JAMIE 

Judge Brenda Penny, responding to Britney’s November 2020 request, refuses to remove Jamie from the agreement. 

She doesn’t say why but she does invite her attorney to file paperwork to end it, which he doesn’t. 

JULY 1, 2021 – BESSEMER TRUST RESIGNS AFTER BEING PUT IN CHARGE WITH JAMIE

A day after the judge’s ruling, Bessemer Trust, which had been brought on, resigned, saying they were never aware that Britney wanted to end the conservatorship. 

In a court filing, the company’s attorneys said: ‘We heard her and respect her wishes.’ 

JULY 5, 2021 – BRITNEY’S LONG-TIME MANAGER RESIGNS

Larry Rudolph wrote a letter to Jamie and the conservatorship to say he was no longer needed since Britney wanted to retire. 

He said he hadn’t spoken to her for two years but had been told by others that she wanted to step down. 

JULY 6, 2021 – BRITNEY’S ATTORNEY STEPS DOWN 

Sam Ingham, the attorney appointed to represent Britney in 2008, steps down after failing to file paperwork to terminate the conservatorship, despite her pleas. 

JULY 14, 2021 -BRITNEY WINS RIGHT TO CHOOSE HER OWN LAWYER

A Los Angeles court granted Britney the right to choose a lawyer to help her end her conservatorship, after she told a judge the current situation was ‘allowing my dad to ruin my life.’ She chose former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart as her new attorney. 

JULY 23, 2021 – BRITNEY FLASHES HER BOOBS ON INSTAGRAM

Singer’s semi-nude post was hailed by fans including Paris Hilton as evidence of her determination to become a ‘free woman’.

JULY 27, 2021 – LYNNE SPEARS AGREES TO TESTIFY IN SUPPORT OF HER DAUGHTER

The singer’s mother’s attack on Jamie gives her a powerful new ally in her bid to be freed.

AUGUST 12, 2021 – JAMIE SPEARS AGREES TO STEP DOWN AS CONSERVATOR

Jamie’s lawyers filed court documents saying that he will step down, and provide an orderly transition to another conservator.

He said that he was doing so because he felt a public argument with his daughter was not in her best interests. 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 – JAMIE SPEARS FILES TO END THE CONSERVATORSHIP

Jamie states that his daughter ‘is entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required.’ 

The filing went on to say that Britney Spears’ circumstances have changed ‘to such an extent that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist.’ 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 – JAMIE SUSPENDED FROM CONSERVATORSHIP 

LA Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny ruled to suspend Jamie as the conservator of Britney’s estate. 

Accountant John Zabel has been named as the temporary replacement conservator. 

NOVEMBER 2, 2021 – JAMIE FILES TO END THE CONSERVATORSHIP IMMEDIATELY, RELINQUISHING ALL FINANCIAL CLAIMS 

Jamie Spears filed court documents declaring that he was leaving the arrangement immediately, handing over all documents, and not seeking any financial benefit. 

source: dailymail.co.uk