Justin Timberlake did not “flee” to Mexico following the release of Britney Spears’ bombshell book, The Woman in Me.
“It had nothing to do with Britney’s memoir,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly about the trip. “He and his family already had this vacation planned months ago.”
Timberlake, 42, arrived in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, alongside his family — including wife Jessica Biel — according to photos published by the Daily Mail on Monday, October 30.
The insider tells Us that while Timberlake is “supportive of Britney’s decision to put her truth out there,” he is currently “focused on his family and living in the present.”
Spears’ memoir, which was released earlier this month, featured various claims about her relationship with Timberlake.
The singers dated from 1999 to 2002 after meeting on the set of The Mickey Mouse Club. However, Timberlake apparently broke up with Spears via text message, per her book.
She wrote about feeling “clinically in shock” and “devastated” over their split. “I was comatose in Louisiana, and he was happily running around Hollywood,” she wrote.
Spears also revealed that she had an abortion before they split.
“But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young,” she wrote. “I’m sure people will hate me for this, but I agreed not to have the baby. I don’t know if that was the right decision. If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”
After terminating the pregnancy, Timberlake attempted to comfort Spears by playing music as she was “crying and sobbing” on the bathroom floor.
Timberlake, for his part, was unaware that he’d be featured so prominently in The Woman in Me.
“Justin thought Britney might talk about their ups and downs in more general terms — not air out their very personal, dirty laundry,” one source told Us earlier this month. “He’s disappointed she went this route decades after they split up.”
A second insider noted that Timberlake “regrets” how he “hurt” Spears.
“He was young,” the source continued. “He thinks Britney has every right to tell her story and hopes they can move on now.”
In the wake of the memoir drama, Timberlake turned off his Instagram comments following a barrage of trolling.
A third source told Us that Timberlake was “a playboy” during his early years in Hollywood, corroborating Spears’ claims that he cheated on her multiple times. (She also admitted to cheating on Timberlake with Wade Robson.)
“As they rose to fame, Justin started to want to experience life without Britney,” the insider continued. “[She] was so loyal to him, and it was not reciprocated later in their relationship. Britney cheating with Wade wasn’t a huge surprise because she wanted to get back at [Justin]; she had looked the other way for years.”
Reporting by Sarah Jones