Jamie Lynn Spears reveals why she left Hollywood for 'the middle of nowhere'

Jamie Lynn Spears has explained why being pregnant at the height of her fame at 16 was the reason why she had to leave the spotlight.

The Zoey 101 star, who is the younger sister of Britney Spears, became pregnant while dating her then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge in 2007.

She said the one-sided media coverage made her feel ashamed to be pregnant and Spears didn’t want her daughter to grow up around that.

"I was told my life was over. It was really, really tough not to believe those things," she explained to PEOPLE.

On her decision to move to ‘the middle of nowhere’ in Mississippi, Spears said: "It really was just me and her," following her split from Aldridge, then moving back to Louisiana where she grew up.

Zoey 101 star Jamie Lynn Spears has revealed why she traded Hollywood for rural life (Instagram/@jamielynnspears)

"I had to be like, ‘Look, this little girl needs you. You better figure it out'. I wanted to create a good, stable life for my daughter."

Spears said she wanted Maddie, now 18, to be ‘proud of’ her mum.

"I wanted to make sure [she knew] that it wasn't her fault that she got a mom who was 16 and pregnant," Spears added.

"So, I wanted to make sure I did everything right. I think I was a bit of a helicopter parent."

Maddie recalled her mother being strict when she was younger, ‘but with good reason’.

"She just wants me to be safe," she said, adding that Spears did a ‘really good job of giving me a normal childhood’.

"We just had fun together because she did have me so young."

Spears went on to speak about the importance of having some normality, despite ‘everyone knowing who her family is’.

Spears didn't want Maddie to grow up in the spotlight (Instagram/@jamielynnspears)

Spears poked fun at when Maddie was younger, she used to think ‘all pop stars were her aunt’.

"She was like, 'Aunt Gaga! Aunt RiRi!'" she remembered.

"I was like, 'No, no, no, no. That's not how this works.' I don't even think you ever met those people. You just assumed that they were all your aunts."

Earlier this year, Spears celebrated her 12th wedding anniversary with her businessman husband Jamie Watson.

They share daughter Ivey, born in 2018, while Watson remains as a stepfather to Maddie.

Fans will remember Spears' acting comeback in 2020 when she joined Netflix's drama series Sweet Magnolias as Noreen Fitzgibbons.

In 2023, Spears also reprised her most famous role, Zoey Brooks, in Zoey 102.