Jamie Lynn Spears admits being 'so sad' after sister Britney broke up with Justin Timberlake

Jamie Lynn Spears is reflecting on the grief her sister Britney Spears had during her widely publicised divorce from Justin Timberlake. The Sweet Magnolias actress appeared on the podcast Call Her Daddy for a two-part episode that premiered Monday night, telling host Alex Cooper that it was painful to watch Britney mourn the break-up.

"I think everyone thought it was forever," Spears, 30, said as per PEOPLE. "I was so sad, first off because my sister was so sad, but that, too, was the first time I saw [that] maybe I didn't know everything about the relationship. Perhaps they were protecting me and obviously why would they talk to me about anything." For those unversed, Britney and Timberlake, both 40, were in a relationship from 1998 to 2002. (when Jamie Lynn Spears was in her early teens). While Jamie admitted that she "truly" did not know why the pair split up, she expressed sympathy for her sister, especially after Timberlake recorded the song "Cry Me a River" in 2002.

As per PEOPLE, The song, which helped him make his solo debut after his stint in *NSYNC, was widely taken as a swipe at Britney due to lyrics that claimed Timberlake's former girlfriend had cheated. Last year's New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears — which included insight into "Cry Me a River" and a clip of Timberlake admitting to radio hosts Star and Buc Wild that he and Britney had sex brought renewed attention to the end of their relationship. Timberlake issued a public apology to Britney.

Meanwhile, Jamie Lynn Spears and her older sister have been entangled in a verbal spat in the run-up to the publishing of Jamie Lynn's biography, Things I Should Have Said.

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