Jamie Lynn Spears says her family forced her not to tell her sister Britney when she became pregnant at 16 years old.
The former Nickelodeon star, 30, opened up about her family's reaction to her pregnancy in the pages of her memoir Things I Should Have Said, Jamie Lynn detailed her troubled relationship with her pop star sister.
Revealing in an excerpt by People how her parents and team deemed it "too risky" to tell Britney, Jamie Lynn wrote: "I needed her more than ever and she wasn't able help me in my most vulnerable time."
"Everyone had their own opinion about what was best for me," she added, noting that her family's opposition only made her want to keep the child more.
After refusing to get an abortion or to give her child up for adoption, Jamie Lynn became embroiled in a spat with her father.
"Daddy and I fought, slinging words and tossing insults. He grabbed me by the shoulders and held on tightly in the hopes of bending me to his will," she recalled.
"I got in his face and yelled, 'NO! I won't go.' I couldn't deal with any of them. I ran away from them, panting with rage."
At the time the family was already dealing with Britney's mental health problems and they felt as if the star was too unstable to be trusted with the news.
"Home felt like a prison without a smartphone or connection to the outside world," she wrote.
"My team believed everyone outside of the inner circle was a potential threat. They went so far as hiding my pregnancy from my sister, claiming, 'It's too risky to tell Britney about the baby.' I needed her more than ever and she wasn't able help me in my most vulnerable time," she went on.
Jamie Lynn noticed her sister's behavior was becoming more erratic, writing: "Britney's condition was spiraling into something more concerning. They were concerned her instability at that time made her untrustworthy."
Given no other options, the young actress followed her team's instructions.
"I went along with what my team told me to do because I was a minor and didn't want to create any more issues," she explained.
She would go on to reveal the news with a cover story for OK! magazine.
"Britney learned of the pregnancy when the article was released. To this day, the hurt of not being able to tell my sister myself lingers," she added.
