For years, fans have thought that Britney Spears‘ song “Everytime” was about her relationship with Justin Timberlake.
However, it has taken on new meaning to some following a revelation that the Princess of Pop made in her memoir The Woman in Me.
In a teaser ahead of the book’s release, the 41-year-old Glory singer alleged that she had an abortion at Justin‘s urging after she got pregnant while they were together.
“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,” she wrote.
After learning about the difficult choice, some fans are reading between the lines of the tender ballad and believe that they discovered a more layered meaning.
Revisit Britney Spears’ ballad inside…
Included on her 2003 album In the Zone, “Everytime” was believed to be a response to Justin‘s single “Cry Me a River,” which appeared to accuse Britney of cheating.
However, there is some evidence that the song might be more than just an apology to an ex.
Fans have pointed out that “Everytime” is a lullaby, which led some to speculate that it might also be written to her unborn child.
“Every time I see you in my dreams / I see your face, it’s haunting me / I guess I need you baby,” Britney sings on the song’s chorus.
Elsewhere she sings “At night, I pray / That soon your face will fade away.”
The accompanying music video has also been called into question, as it features a woman giving birth as the pop star seemingly drowns in a bathtub. Britney runs down a white hallway toward a bright light as the woman delivers a baby girl. She then rises from the bathtub with a smile on her face.
Britney has not yet revealed the true meaning of “Everytime,” but theories are piling up online.
“So, Britney Spears’ Everytime is actually a lullaby for her unborn child with Justin Timberlake,” one fans wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “This makes the meaning of the song a whole lot different now. She’s drowning herself to be with her baby; that’s my interpretation of the song & MV.”
Another post was paired with a video of the pop star having an emotional moment while recording the song in the studio. “Britney Spears asking to record Everytime one more time because she was too emotional hits much deeper now,” they wrote.
There have already been multiple bombshells about Britney‘s time with Justin in excerpts from the book. An insider has also revealed how the NSYNC singer has reacted to the memoir.
The Woman in Me arrives on October 24. Preorder it now on Amazon.
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Press play on Britney Spears’ “Everytime” music video up top and revisit the lyrics below…
