Britney Spears has recalled her horrific backstage run-in with ex Justin Timberlake at the 2007 MTV VMAs – shortly before she sparked worldwide concern with a sloppy performance of Gimme More.

The pop icon, 41, who acrimoniously split from Timberlake, 42, in 2002 amid cheating allegations said she was left hurt by the encounter as the SexyBack hitmaker was ‘on top of his game’ while she was ‘having a panic attack.

She writes in new book, The Woman In Me: ‘It had been a while since I’d seen him. Everything was going great in his world.

‘He was at the top of his game in every way, and he had a lot of swagger. I was having a panic attack. I hadn’t rehearsed enough. I hated the way I looked. I knew it was going to be bad.’

Timberlake would go on to win awards including Male Artist of the Year and perform with Timbaland and Nelly Furtado that night, with Spears writing: ‘Justin glided down the runway. He was flirting with girls in the audience, including one who turned around and arched her back, shaking her breasts as he sang to her.’

Awkward: Britney Spears has recalled her horrific backstage run-in with ex Justin Timberlake at the 2007 MTV VMAs – shortly before she sparked worldwide concern with a sloppy performance of Gimme More

Spears’ mental health was again heavily scrutinized following the performance of Gimme More  – in which the disorientated star sloppily mimed and seemed to forget the dance moves

After taking to the stage in nothing more than her underwear and sporting extremely visible hair extensions due to shaving her head months before – the singer’s big comeback came to a grinding halt.

The performance shocked fans and was universally panned by the public and critics.

She wrote of the moment: ‘There was a problem with my costume and with my hair extensions. I hadn’t slept the night before. I was dizzy. It was less than a year since I’d had my second baby in two years but everyone was acting like my not having six-pack abs was offensive,

‘I couldn’t believe I was going to have to go out onstage feeling the way I felt.

‘I went out there and did the best I could at that moment in time, which — yes, granted — was far from my best at other times. I could see myself on video throughout the auditorium while I performed; it was like looking at myself in a fun-house mirror.’

When Britney began dating wholesome NSYNC starTimberlake in 1999 — fans all over the world saw them as America’s golden couple.

Britney shocked the world when she revealed she had got pregnant by Timberlake in 2000 with the singer undergoing an abortion because the N*Sync star ‘didn’t want to be a father.’

Concern:  She writes in new memoir, The Woman In Me: ‘It had been a while since I’d seen him. Everything was going great in his world. He was at the top of his game in every way, and he had a lot of swagger. I was having a panic attack. I hadn’t rehearsed enough’

The way they were: When Britney began dating wholesome NSYNC star Justin Timberlake in 1999 — fans all over the world saw them as America’s golden couple (pictured in 2002)

Britney Spears sports crop top and bikini bottoms during knife dance

The Toxic hitmaker detailed the ‘agonizing’ decision to terminate the pregnancy in her  memoir, The Woman In Me — after conceiving in late 2000 when the pair were both 19, DailyMail.com can confirm.

The star claimed that while she wanted the baby and ‘dreamed of having a family’ with Timberlake, he ‘wasn’t ready’ for the responsibilities of parenthood and thought the pair were too young.

She writes: ‘It was a surprise, but for me, it wasn’t a tragedy. I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated.

‘He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young. 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.’

The star said the abortion was ‘one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life’ in the memoir.

Timberlake break-up message to Spears was recently revealed by her former video director Chris Applebaum after she revealed he dumped her by text.

Chris, now, 53, who has also worked with Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato, detailed the moment that Justin broke up with the pop star, 41.

Celebration: Timberlake would go on to win awards including Male Artist of the Year and perform with Timbaland and Nelly Furtado that night, with Spears writing: ‘Justin glided down the runway. He was flirting with girls in the audience (pictured 2007)

He revealed how he was working on the set of a music video with Britney when she received a two-word text message from Justin, which said: ‘It’s over’.

Chris told how Britney and her team were working on the video for Overprotected (Darkchild Remix), during a grueling 24-hour shoot day.

In April 2022, Chris posted a picture with Britney on set, as he reflected on the story behind the snap, which was Britney and Justin’s break-up.

He wrote: ‘This was taken on the 2nd shoot day for her Overprotected (Darkchild Remix) video, he wrote. It was a (planned) 24 hr shoot day and we had one crew clock out after 12 hrs & a new one clock in.

‘At some point during the 2nd shift Brit disappeared and I went to her trailer to fetch her…only to discover her BF Justin had just broken up with her via text message. (Let me recommend to any who reads this: don’t break up via text!)

‘We sat on the floor of her trailer for a minute, talked it out, and then rallied.’ He teased that it was ‘just one of the stories from the shoot…’.

Chris recently spoke to Page Six about the post, offering more details about the message and how Britney responded.

He told the publication that when he walked into her trailer, she showed her the phone, and said: ‘I can’t believe it. Look at it. This happened.’

According to Chris, the message simply read: ‘It’s over’.

Chris revealed how he changed Britney’s mind about stopping work for the day, explaining: ‘If you don’t have it in you, I totally understand…

‘But if you want to go out there and finish this last set-up in the rain, you can show him that he just made the biggest f***ing mistake of his life.’

Britney said she was devastated after Justin bedded ‘six or seven girls’ in the weeks after they broke up.

It came after Britney had finally admitted to cheating on the NSYNC member with the dancer Wade Robson following years of hearsay.

It was rumored Britney and Justin split up in 2002 after three years of dating because she had a fling with Australian choreographer Wade.

Justin later released his famous single Cry Me A River which includes lyrics that allude to being cheated on.

Britney said of the choreographer on Good Morning America in 2000: ‘He’s just like a child prodigy, seriously… He’s a genius. He’s amazing.’

Yet their relationship was short lived and Britney and Wade had split within the year.

Shock: Britney shocked the world in 2023, when she revealed she had got pregnant by Timberlake in 2000 with the singer undergoing an abortion because the N*Sync star ‘didn’t want to be a father’ (pictured 2002)

Britney Spears teases her upcoming memoir ‘The Woman in Me’

Months after her VMA performance in January 2008 Spears was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after police arriving at her house – after she locked herself in a bathroom with her sons and refused to turn them over to Federline – noticed she appeared to be under the influence.

Federline was given sole legal and physical custody and Spears was placed on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold and committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Spears would regain visitation rights to her sons in July 2008 and began a return to the spotlight with a documentary and TV appearances.

She would share occasional snapshots of her with the boys over the years – beaming at the camera at a baseball match, celebrating birthday dinners, splashing around in a swimming pool – suggested a tender bond between mother and sons was forged.

But Federline was reportedly given 70 percent custody in 2019.

Kevin now notably has full custody over their two boys and made the decision to move the family from Los Angeles to Hawaii recently.