Are Britney Spears and *NSYNC singer Justin Timberlake still a couple? Well, it depends on who you ask these days. While on a European promotional tour for her Crossroads feature-film debut earlier this month, Spears publicly and repeatedly said that breakup rumors were not true, but rumblings about the status of her relationship continue to make headlines worldwide.
Spears’s spokeswoman Lisa Kasteler released a statement on Wednesday (March 20) in an attempt to clarify the couple’s current status. “To set the record straight, both of them are very busy and focusing on their careers. They love each other very much and have not broken up. The demands on their time have naturally created a significant time apart, which could be misconstrued as a more permanent situation.” Of reports that Timberlake was spotted dancing in nightclubs without Spears by his side, the statement explains that “they are both young and like to dance.”
The relationship story has even found its way on to the cover of the new issue of Us Weekly, due out today (March 22), which boldly states in its cover headline: “It’s Over.” The magazine quotes several unnamed sources who claim to be close to *NSYNC. One “friend” said, “They tend to do that break-up/make-up thing, but not this time. They’re done.”
On Tuesday (March 19), the New York Post ran a photo of Timberlake with his so-called new woman, but that report was quickly shot down when it was revealed that the woman in question was actually his agent, Shani Rosenzweig.
Spears’s mother Lynne Spears has even chimed in about the relentless stories concerning her daughter’s love life. Lynne writes on the singer’s official website (britneyspears.com), “These reporters need to be more consistent. Who can keep track? According to them, one week Britney is dating the Prince of Wales, the next week she’s engaged to Justin and this week, the rumor mill has her and Justin broken up. I’ve wasted enough time on those silly little people. In other words, don’t waste your time and money on their fiction and sometimes science-fiction tales. I’m even starting to doubt the ‘real’ news these days.”
