“Whose business was it if I’d had sex or not?” the pop star writes in her new memoir ‘The Woman in Me’

Britney Spears at the AMAs in 1998 in Los Angeles, California. PHOTO: JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC

Britney Spears says the nation’s obsession with her virginity haunted her during her early years in the spotlight.

In her memoir The Woman in Me, the pop icon reveals that her team portrayed her “as an eternal virgin” even though she first had sex at 14.

“Given that I had so many teenage fans, my managers and press people had long tried to portray me as an eternal virgin — never mind that Justin [Timberlake] and I had been living together, and I’d been having sex since I was fourteen,” Britney, now 41, writes of her sexual experience in the book.

The “Lucky” singer adds: “Why did my managers work so hard to claim I was some kind of young-girl virgin even into my twenties? Whose business was it if I’d had sex or not?”

Britney Spears in Los Angeles in October 1998.GETTY

Her mother Lynne Spears’ 2008 memoir Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World claimed her daughter had lost her virginity at 14 as well.

In her new book, Britney praises Oprah Winfrey for telling her that her “sexuality was no one else’s business.”

Alongside other pop stars of the time like Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson, Britney found that her virginity became a national topic of discussion.

Britney Spears in the “…Baby One More Time” music video.
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But in 2002, Timberlake appeared on The Star & Buc Wild Morning Show, where he was asked about his private life with Spears.

“Justin Timberlake is in the house, and I just want to ask you one question—did you f— Britney Spears?” Troi “Star” Torain asked the musician. “Yes or no? Come on, man.”

“Oh man,” Timberlake said with an awkward laugh, before adding, “OK, I did it!”

During his infamous 2002 interview with Barbara Walters on 20/20, the host asked the “Cry Me a River” singer if he and Britney kept her promise to wait until marriage to which he laughed and replied, “Sure.”

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake at the 28th annual American Music Awards in 2001.FRANK TRAPPER/CORBIS VIA GETTY

In an interview with W Magazine in 2002, Britney shared that she had sex with her former boyfriend Timberlake. “I’ve only slept with one person my whole life,” she told the outlet. “It was two years into my relationship with Justin, and I thought he was the one. … But I was wrong! I didn’t think he was gonna go on Barbara Walters and sell me out.”

Spears released her much-anticipated memoir on Tuesday, through Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

“It is finally time for me to raise my voice and speak out, and my fans deserve to hear it directly from me,” Spears told PEOPLE in an email interview for last week’s exclusive cover story. “No more conspiracy, no more lies — just me owning my past, present and future.”

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Its release comes nearly two years since she was released from her court-ordered conservatorship after 13 years. In November 2021, the conservatorship was terminated after Spears delivered an impassioned public testimony in court in June of that year.

Britney Spears on the cover of PEOPLE.BRITNEY BRANDS

In the PEOPLE cover story, Britney opened up about struggling to have other people take control of her own narrative.

“Over the past 15 years or even at the start of my career, I sat back while people spoke about me and told my story for me,” she said. “After getting out of my conservatorship, I was finally free to tell my story without consequences from the people in charge of my life.”