In a new interview with People, the actress and singer reflected on the challenges of navigating motherhood under a relentless spotlight while also raising her daughter, Maddie, away from Hollywood’s glare.

Jamie Lynn Spears Reflects on the Public Backlash That Followed Her Teen Pregnancy

Long before she returned to television with Netflix’s “Sweet Magnolias,” Spears became the subject of widespread tabloid attention after revealing she was pregnant in 2007 during the height of Zoey 101’s popularity. Looking back, she remembers just how severe the reaction was.

“I was called the biggest letdown in the world,” she said, recalling the headlines that followed the announcement. The criticism was relentless enough that she was also told “my life was over,” admitting that “it was really, really tough not to believe those things.”

In the years that followed, Spears stepped away from Hollywood and focused on building a life around her daughter. She moved to Mississippi, where she could escape much of the attention surrounding her personal life. “It really was just me and her,” she said of those early years with Maddie. Faced with the realities of young motherhood, Spears remembered telling herself, “Look, this little girl needs you. You better figure it out.” Her goal, she explained, was simple: “I wanted to create a good, stable life for my daughter.”

As Maddie grew older, Spears became increasingly focused on the example she was setting. “I wanted her to have a mom she could be proud of,” she said. She was also determined to make sure her daughter never carried guilt about the circumstances surrounding her birth. “I wanted to make sure [she knew] that it wasn’t her fault that she got a mom who was 16 and pregnant,” Spears shared. In trying to get everything right, she admitted, “I think I was a bit of a helicopter parent.”

Now 18, Maddie sees those years through a different lens. Looking back on her childhood, she described her mother as “definitely strict but with good reason,” adding, “She just wants me to be safe.” At the same time, she believes their relatively small age gap created a unique bond. “We just had fun together because she did have me so young,” Maddie said.

Despite growing up connected to one of pop culture’s most famous families, Maddie insists her upbringing felt surprisingly ordinary. “I never felt different,” she said, crediting her mother with doing “a really good job of giving me a normal childhood.” Spears echoed that sentiment, noting that her daughter’s famous relatives were simply part of everyday life from the beginning. “She was born with everyone knowing who her family is, so there wasn’t anything odd about it because it’s pretty much all she’s ever known.”

As Maddie prepares to leave for college later this year, the interview offers a rare look at how both mother and daughter view a chapter that once dominated headlines.