EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
BRITNEY!
She tells all to Star
Boys!
Booze!
Betrayals!
Breakups!
PLUS
Why I hacked off my hair
BRITNEY
Boys! Booze! Betrayal!
...and the breakup
STAR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
By Jenny Agrafojo & David Wright
THOUGHOUT the last tempestuous year in her life, pop princess Britney Spears has stayed steadfastly silent about the heartaches she's faced and the worrying questions being asked about her wild, hard-partying lifestyle.
But now, as 21-year-old Britney gets ready to launch her as-yet-untitled new album this fall, she sits down with Star to open her heart and tell her story.
Looking trim in frayed low-rise jeans, her favorite 10-year-old suede cowboy boots and a snug Tennessee Titans midriff that showed off her belly button jewelry, she wasn't afraid to call herself "a real dork" and "really retarded."
It was a rare glimpse into the real Britney, her life and her loves - in her own words.
The Big Breakup
Britney bites her lip as she recalls the pain of the breakup with the she she calls "J". She and ex-*NSYNC singer Justin Timberlake had been together for four years, and the trauma of the split obviously still haunts her.
She hints that the breakup happened because the pressures of their superstar careers pulled them in different directions.
"I was completely heartbroken," she says. "It was like, wow! What do I do now? It was the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with."
"It took me months to get over it. I finally realized it was over when I'd hear him sing on the radio or hear people say his name - and my heart wouldn't start fluttering. You know what - I'll always love him. He's my first love.
"And there are certain things that I still miss about him. He totally made me laugh."
Star Magazine asks about the recent prediction of her former close friend Christina Aguilera that Brit and Justin will one day reunite.
"It's sweet of her to say that," says Britney quietly, "but there's so much that's been laid down, it would be hard to go back. It would never be the same."
She and J never even talk, she adds.
"J never proposed to me - and I didn't cheat on him," she reveals.
Some entertainers would have channeled their heartache into a song. But not Britney. "None of the songs I wrote for my new album is about him," she says. "I don't want to put my personal things out ther, and no one wants to hear my garbage about a breakup."
She then smiles, as if a cloud has lifted. "I'm happy with myself, just being me and - this is bizarre - if we were stil together I probably wouldn't be as happy as I am today."
Justin recently released a video of his hit Cry Me A River with a girl who looks a whole lot like Britney. And the lyrics and visuals all but accuse her of cheating on him.
"I was shocked to ****," she exclaims. "First time I saw it, I thought: 'Oh my God, it's me. It was a little weird, but if that's the way he has to deal with things, that's fine."
"And he got a number one video."
Her Parents' Divorce
Britney's parents, Jamie and Lynne, split up in May 2002 after 30 years of marriage.
"My mom called me in L.A. and told me she and dad were divorcing," she said.
"It was always in my head that it might happen, but it never did. So when my mom broke the news, it was like ...whoa! It was very weird."
What went wrong? Britney bares some of her own pain as she answers. "Sometimes two people, no matter how in love they are, can't make it work," she said softly.
"It's sad, but you can fall out of love."
"Trust me - I know. I've been there. It's really weird how one minute you can be so in love with someone - and then it's gone, just like that.
"For my mom and dad, their marriage just didn't click anymore."
And she dismisses a recent report that her dad, Jamie, 51, had an affair with a 36-year-old beauty who was spotted snorting cocaine while they were partying together.
"My dad was coming to New York a lot to work on my apartment, and women go after good-looking men like him," she shrugs.
Partying
She met the stories head-on.
"Everyone talks about my year of wild living - but seriously, I haven't gone out in four weeks," she said.
"And after two drinks, I'm good to go. My favorite drinks are Malibu pineapple and Amaretto sours - I can't drink strong drinks.
"Of course there have been times when I've done a shot or two - like on my birthday.
"Yes, I'll go out and have a good time. Why shouldn't I? And just like anybody else my age, maybe I have woken up the next morning and said: 'Whoo ... that was a crazy night.'"
Wasn't she once reported to have danced on a table at trendy New York hotspot Lot 61?
"Never," she insists. Then she laughs and confesses, "A few weeks ago I was at Lot 61 and me and my girlfriend Jennie did stand up on the booth and dance."
"Hey, Julia Roberts took off her bra at Hogs and Heifers - so what we did wasn't real bad!"
Pepsi Or Coke?
"Actually I prefer Red Bull. I know that's really bad, but when I have photo shoots to do and I'm really tired, I drink Red Bull and apple juice. It really pumps me up."
Drugs
"If I was half as wild as the stories about me, I wouldn't be sitting with you right now. Let's say that you reach a stage in your life where you are curious. And I was curious at one point. But I'm way too focused to let anything stop me. Was it a mistake? Yes."
The Book That Helped Her
The Mastery of Love by Mexican-born former surgeon Don Miguel Ruiz.
"It's helped me because it makes me really look at myself," she explains.
"Mastery of Love talks about relationships and teaches you that if you're with a guy, the more you start to worry about him 24/7, it's going to push him away.
"It says be centered on yourself and love YOU, and he'll come after you.
"It's all about love yourself - and that's very empowering."
Her Boyz
Every relationship I've ever been in was a long one. My old boyfriend back home five years. Justin for four years.
"Me and Colin had fun, but I'm not the kind of person to..."
She stopped in mid-sentence. "What I mean is I can't date. I know if I like you or if I don't. It's either there or not.
"I don't want a boyfriend right now - period. I'm just having fun and my work is my hobby."
Fred Durst
One brief boyfriend she'd like to forget? The hot star of Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst.
Britney was shocked when he went on the Howard Stern show and told a nationwide audience that he'd slept with her.
He described her breasts and charged that she was poorly groomed. Britney seemed as if she was still puzzled by his betrayal as she explained, "Fred and I worked together for a couple of days," she says.
"J and I were broken up and my girlfriends and Fred were really good friends, so we'd go out at night and we'd see each other.
"He started sending me letters and stuff, which is very sweet. I thought he was a cool guy - but that's as far as it went.
"Then I went on to a show and said we hadn't been together like that. Fred started saying: 'Oh, she's lying. She's trying to make me look stupid.'
"It was very weird.
"Then he went on Howard Stern's show - and my mom had listened to this stuff."
Angered by Durst's claims, Britney called him.
"I left a message telling him: 'We have to talk. I wish you'd stop saying things about me that aren't true.'
"He never called me back, of course."
But Britney has gotten used to unpleasant episodes like that. "People say bad things about me that are completely untrue," she said.
"But you know, it's so made me such a strong girl. You can't let it bother you."
Pregnancy?
Ever thought you were pregnant? 'No,' she shrieked.
The Man She'll Wed
"I could see myself marrying someone like Tom Hanks," she said almost wistfully. "He's so nice, he's the best father, a lovely family man."
She paused, then laughed, "Someone like him - or Brad Pitt. Brad probably more so. Yeahhh!"
Demi & Ashton
Could she date someone 15 years older than her? "I don't think I could," she said reflectively. "Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones look like they go together. For them it works, But for me it would be weird."
She mentions that she recently bumped into 40-year-old Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher - 15 years younger - in the Bahamas.
"She's stunningly beautiful and she looks my age," said Britney.
"When I saw them together they had great energy and they were really into each other."
FAVORITE BAD BOY
"Colin Farrell!"
"He projects bad boy, but I think he's adorable. I've met his mother and sister and they're so nice," she said of the Irish star of The Recruit.
"He's absolutely, insanely gorgeous. We talked on the phone two weeks ago, but we were just friends, nothing serious.
"Did we hook up? We had like a peck!
"Make out? I wish!"
Piercings?
Nipple pierced? 'Nooooo!' she screamed.
"One of my girlfriends did that and she said it was the most excrusiating pain. Can you imagine just going in somewhere and saying 'Pierce me there,' Hell no!"
The Ring & Sexy Lingerie
Her favorite store is a New York jewelry shop called Fragments, she says. And she shows off the ring she's just bought there. It's a dainty white-gold band with a tiny, tiny diamond so small it's barely visible unless you're up close and personal like Star Magazine was. She's obsessive about shopping, she admits. And she lets us in on a saucy secret.
"Lately I'm buying lingerie," she said. "I don't even have a man in my life - it's just to make me happy at night. At least I can have little dainty stuff that I can put on and feel good about."
CHOP!
CHOP!
Britney's new blonde 'do has extensions to hide the fact that she's just chopped her own hair.
"I was in New York and I was sick of my long blonde hair," she said. "I thought: I need a change. I need something drastic - I'm losing it here.'
"My girlfriend helped me - and suddenly it was: 'Uh-oh, what did I just do?' We totally messed it up. It was kind of a brain fart.
"My hairdresser Oribe got really pissed. He was like: 'What did you do to your hair?' But somehow he managed to rescu the situation."
HER TATTOOS
"I've got four and I'm not going to have any more," she grimaced. "I got over it."
She tugged her pants down below her hip and pointed to a tiny yellow flower with a word she said meant "Mysterious."
Then she took off one of her boots and her sock to reveal two tattoos on her foot.
One, in the shape of a flower, circled her second toe. "I got it in Europe. My friends and I all got the same tattoo to remember our trip.
"The toe tattoo hurt extremely. I found out later that in some countries it's illegal to tattoo toes because of the pain. "I'd like to get rid of it because it doens't look the way I'd hoped it would. It's a blob.
"Then I forgot how bad the pain was, so I got another tattoo on my foot - and it hurt even worse."
She pointed to a butterfly winging its way off a vine. "It means free - I'm free like a butterfly," she explained.
Finally, she turned her back to show the famous fairy tattoo peeking over the top of her jeans.
CHRISTINA AGUILERA and JUSTIN
An issue of Rolling Stone last month featured a sexy spread of pictures of Justin and Christina Aguilera, who are on tour together.
"When I saw it, my immediate reaction was 'that's hot,'" said Britney, no trace of jealousy in her voice. "They have a great chemistry."
"It's a great promotional thing for the two of them, and Christina and I are totally friends," she said.
"When we were in the Mickey Mouse Club we were best friends - inseperable.
"One night we'd sleep over at my house, the next night at hers.
"I'd love to be able to sit down and talk to her now - but we're both so busy, we don't have the time."
Guns & Kidnapping
Britney was in Mexico earlier this year when the van she was being driven in suddenly stopped in heavy traffic.
"Suddenly these guys with guns in their hands surrounded us," she recalled. "I thought: 'They're trying to kidnap me.' I was terrified.
"I ducked my head down and yelled to my bodyguard and driver: 'My God, what's going on?'
"Then people on the street started shaking the van, pushing it from side to side. They even got out of their cars to join in.
"They must've known it was me, but I don't understand what they were doing.
"Finally the traffic started moving, and we sped away.
"Apparently what had happened was that the guys with guns were part of a security crew that we hadn't hired - and they got mad.
"But I didn't find that out till later - and it didn't make it any less scary."
The Lesbian Scandal
The most outrageous rumoer Britney has ever heard about herself?
"That I was with a porn-star girl," she snorted. "I remember seeing an article headlined: 'Britney's Girl.' "My mom called me, very concerned and said" 'Did you read this, baby? What's up?' I said: 'Like Mom, I'm not a lesbian.'"
Worst Body Part
Is there anything she'd like to change about her body, Star Magazine wondered?
"My nose," Britney said without hesitation, covering it with her hand.
"I hate my nose - I'd love it to be a little bit smaller."
Courtesy Of Star Magazine
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Definitely Coke.