Jamie Lynn Spears has revealed she was told to keep her pregnancy a secret from her sister, Britney Spears, as it was deemed too 'risky' to tell her.
Jamie Lynn fell pregnant in 2007 at the age of 16, when Britney was publicly going through a challenging time and the younger Spears sister was starring on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101.
She reveals in an excerpt from her memoir, obtained by People, that chaos ensued when her family and team found out that she was expecting a child.
The star wrote: "There was a whole lot of fighting going on between everyone involved.
"The entire Spears team was already caught up in my sister's PR difficulties, and everyone around me just wanted to make this 'issue' disappear.
"My family and management pulled me out of school until they could figure out what to do next. They took my smartphone away, fearing the news would get out, and insisted that no one share any information with anyone, especially the press.
The excerpt also revealed that Britney was seen as a threat to Jamie Lynn's reputation: "My team believed everyone outside of the inner circle was a potential threat... They were concerned [Britney's] instability at that time made her untrustworthy."
"I went along with what my team told me to do because I was a minor and didn't want to create any more issues," she continues. "Britney learned of the pregnancy when the article was released. To this day, the hurt of not being able to tell my sister myself lingers."
Jamie Lynn shares in the memoir that she was advised against having her child, Maddie, who is now 13.
"It will kill your career. You are just too young. You don't know what you're doing. There are pills you can take. We can help you take care of this problem. Think about what you're doing to your family. Doesn't the family have enough to deal with? I know a doctor. There are procedures that remedy mistakes like this. You don't have to do this," the star recalls being told - although by that point, Jamie Lynn had made up her mind to keep the child.
Jamie Lynn announced her memoir October.
She had promised a portion of the proceeds from the book's sales to This Is My Brave, an organisation that aims to fight stigma around mental illness by encouraging open conversation.
However, a source told ET that This IS My Brave would not be accepting Jamie Lynn's donation following a barrage of negative comments amid Britney's conservatorship battle, which was ongoing at the time.
Her conservatorship came to an end on Friday.
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