Lynne Spears has been interviewed yet again discussing details about her past, as well as Britney's,
On wanting to name her book "It's All My Fault:"
'I can laugh about it now, but did I feel that way at the time? Yes, I did and, if I'm being totally honest, I still do,' she says.
On her regrets:
'When her life was such a success, what did she need me for? And when things took a turn for the worse, I was out, because other people - dancers, managers - were closer to her, and with her day and night. Being a mother, you can't help but have regrets about what you did and didn't do for your kids, and I'm no different,'
On Britney and suicide:
'Yes, I did worry that that might happen,' she confesses. 'I couldn't see Britney, and you worry more when you're looking at things from a distance.' I couldn't see Britney, and you worry more when you're looking at things from a distance.'
Britney reaching out to her mother:
'When I started seeing her again, I felt more reassured,' says Lynne. 'She told me that, as bad as life can get, she still likes life too much to consider ending it.'
Lynne on Kevin:
'He has been real good with Britney, and doesn't want to keep the kids from her at all,' she says, adding that Britney's access rights translate in real terms to 'getting to see the kids almost any time she wants.'
'He's not a bad guy and he has a good heart. I would have chosen a prince or a state governor for her, but Kevin's worked a lot to help out, and I can't say anything bad about him.'
Lynne on being labeled a stage mom:
'I was never a stage mum and never Britney's manager. What really gets me about that stage mum thing is that, in this business, it's customary for the mother to take five per cent, but I never did, even when times were bad and our family needed the money.
Jamie [Britney's father] and I both said that we never wanted to be her managers; we just wanted to be parents. I was never in the driver's seat as far as Britney's career goes.'
On that certain something missing in Britney:
'I think Britney's happy in most ways - very happy with her kids and ecstatic about work, but there's something missing in her life.
That gut belief she had in herself when she was so young - that's what's missing, and she's got to get that back. She could set the world on fire in those days, and she knew exactly what she wanted. But the hardships she's been through have made her a little hesitant. She needs one big boost, one plug of energy and she'll be there.'
On Britney's childhood dreams:
'It cost a lot to send Britney to classes and competitions, and by the time she made it to the Mickey Mouse Club, what she made barely paid for the apartment we stayed in [in Florida], and with living expenses, too, it actually cost us money. But she really wanted to do it and we weren't going to stop her.'
In retrospect, does Lynne sometimes wish that she had said no to all the aspirations of her daughter? 'Well, that's unrealistic,' she says. 'You don't tell your child, "You can't play football because you might get into steroids one day", because you just don't foresee those problems. Even if I had said no to Britney, maybe worse things might have happened because she was frustrated and couldn't fulfil her dreams.'
Lynne on Jamie and the conservatorship:
'I admire Jamie for making the effort and trying to do it well. We decided he should be the one to do it, because he's the stronger figure. Mums always give in to their kids because we're softies, and what Britney needed at the time was the stronger person.'
But Jamie, too, has had his problems. He has battled with an addiction to alcohol, though he has now been sober for five years. 'We all had reservations at first,' admits Lynne, 'and we all worried that the stresses of such a major undertaking would affect them both. But Jamie's really doing well with Britney, and I must give him credit for that.'
Rules forced on Britney:
'She was spending a lot of money, so that would make sense.'
In the TV documentary For The Record, which was recently screened on Sky, Britney likened her current predicament to a jail sentence. 'I'm sure she does feel reined in too tight some days,' says Lynne, 'but it was definitely necessary in the beginning.'
'Jamie's real gruff sometimes, but he's been a disciplinarian when it was needed. He's always adored his children, but when they were younger, he was so distracted with work and was drinking heavily, so they maybe didn't bond like they should have done.'
Lynne on Sam Lutfi & Adnan Ghalib:
'Did I think it seemed right that they [Britney & Adnan] were seeing each other? Oh, no. But when I met him, Sam Lufti [Britney's former manager] was also around, and Adnan was definitely the better of the two. But Adnan's out of her life now.'
Lynne on the shock of Jamie Lynn's pregnancy:
'With Britney, everything had always been out there in the public domain,' she says. 'So, even if I wasn't used to the pain, I was still used to those things happening. But with Jamie Lynn it was so different. I couldn't believe that my studious, perfect little girl had got herself pregnant. I just went into shock. But she's doing great now, and is a wonderful mum to Maddie Briann.'
And if there is a wedding date set between Jamie Lynn and fiance Casey Aldridge? 'No,' says Lynne, 'but Jamie Lynn will do the right thing at the right time.' Does that involve having more children? 'Oh, no, definitely not,' says Lynne, horrified. 'I think it took that one time to make her grow up and realise her responsibilities.'
Lynne reflecting:
'I think I was an enabler to Britney,' she says. 'I would over-compensate and I tried to make things seem happier when my kids were growing up, because I was aware of the deficit. Maybe I didn't give her the skills to handle the hard times. Maybe I sheltered her too much from the realities, and sometimes that's not a good thing.'
When fame hit, it hit hard, 'and that's when everything started slipping away. She was a bird flying on her own, when what she most needed was to have good people around her.' And now, how does Lynne feel? 'I'm so proud of Britney. She's been through a tough time and look at her now,' she says. 'That's my baby - and she's back.'
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If anyone seems more lost than Britney, it's Lynne.
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