Britney Spears Recalls Kissing Justin Timberlake Playing Truth or Dare at Mouseketeer Sleepover (Exclusive)

Britney Spears reflects on her time as a Mouseketeer.

In an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir, The woman in meshared exclusively with PEOPLE, the pop icon, 41, writes about her time on The Mickey Mouse Club — and a certain connection she made early on.

“Being on the show was a boot camp for the entertainment industry: extensive dance rehearsals, singing lessons, acting lessons, time in the recording studio and school in between,” writes Spears, who has appeared on the show since 1993. “The Mouseketeers quickly shared into our own cliques, divided by the dressing rooms we shared: Christina Aguilera and I were younger kids and we shared a dressing room. We looked up to the older kids – Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling and Tony Lucca, who I thought was so handsome. And I quickly connected with a boy named Justin Timberlake.”

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Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears in July 2001. KMazur/WireImage

Spears and Timberlake dated from 1999 to 2002, but their relationship began to blossom behind the scenes The Mickey Mouse Club.

“[Once] at sleepover we were playing Truth or Dare and someone challenged Justin to kiss me,” she writes. “A Janet Jackson song was playing in the background as he leaned in and kissed me.”

The “Toxic” singer also reveals in The woman in me that while the show was “incredibly fun”, it was also “extremely hard work”, and the children were expected to practice the choreography and routines “thirty times a day”.

The Mickey Mouse Club.

Everett

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Timberlake and Spears later dated in the early years before breaking up in 2002. The “Mirrors” singer married actress Jessica Biel in 2012, and the couple have sons Silas, 8, and Phineas, 3. Spears has sons Sean Preston (18) and Jayden James (17) with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

The woman in me is Britney Spears.

The new release of Spears’ book follows the termination of her 13-year conservatorship in 2021, which Timberlake also discussed in June of that year. After Spears revealed she wanted to “end the conservatorship,” the *NSYNC alum wrote to her fans on social media that “we should all support Britney at this time.”

“Regardless of our past, good or bad, and however long ago it was… what is happening to her is just not right,” he wrote. “No woman should be limited in making decisions about her own body. No one should EVER be held against their will…or ever have to ask permission to access everything they’ve worked so hard for.”

Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake in January 2001.

Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty

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Timberlake, now 42, then ended his Twitter messages with words of support on his and Biel’s behalf.

“Jess and I send our love and our absolute support to Britney during this time,” he said. “We hope the courts and her family will get this right and let her live however she wants.”

Britney Spears on the cover of PEOPLE.

Britney Brands

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The woman in me is out on October 24th and is available for pre-order now.

For more exclusive excerpts and interviews with Britney Spears, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.

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Source: HIS Education