Jamie Lynn Spears: "I Wasn't Trying to Glamorize Teen Pregnancy"
Long before Amber Portwood and Jenelle Evans gained notoriety on MTV's Teen Mom, there was another pregnant 16-year-old making headlines: Jamie Lynn Spears.
Now 21, the former Nickelodeon star opens up to Glamour about how giving birth to daughter Maddie (with then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge) changed her life forever.
"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," she tells the magazine's March issue. "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."
PHOTOS: Can you spot Jamie Lynn's baby bump?
Jamie Lynn wasn't using birth control at the time because "like many young girls, I was really scared to go to the doctor." The reason? "I was on a Nickelodeon show, and it felt especially embarrassing to ask someone to put me on birth control. . .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."
"Everybody is dealt a hand of cards," Jamie Lynn reasons. "It was my choice to play them the way I played them. But the hateful comments hurt."
The star leaned on her older sister Britney Spears, 30, for support. "[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."
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Now that her life is more balanced, Jamie Lynn plans to re-join 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," she tells Glamour.
"Do people have an idea of who they think I am? Yes, and that's fine with me," Jamie Lynn says. "My music will speak for itself."
Tell Us What You Think
9hahahaha her music...right!
She's fair game? How so? Because she got pregnant at a young age just like tons of other girls out there? I get it, she's famous so she needs to set an example. But things happen in life. Sometimes not as you intended. As long as she's taking care of her little girl & owning up to her responsibilities, I feel like that's all that matters. Best of luck to her.
of course hateful comments hurt but you're fair game.
she should show those teen moms on that stupid show that you shouldnt act like your child is gunna get you fame and be a good mom and focus on your child not how you look or getting a boob job.
Actually some really mature comments!
She made a mistake but we all do, at the end, she has a beautiful child and a good life. She is a great person in my book, good for her
RAISED YOUR CHILD?? SHE IS WHAT 4 OR 5?? sHE HAS ALOT MORE RAISING TO DO!
nice girl)
Good for her!! Proud she's standing up for herself and took responsibility for her actions. I look forward to seeing her back on tv soon as well as her music coming!! 9: --G