Justin Timberlake is taking the current news cycle in stride.
As Britney Spears reveals in her upcoming memoir The Woman in Me that she became pregnant with Timberlake’s baby during their relationship but had an abortion, a source tells PEOPLE the musician, 42, is focused his family with wife Jessica Biel and work, including the *NSYNC reunion and his upcoming Trolls movie.
“He’s happy at home with Jess and their kids and he’s focusing on new music. He’s in such a great place,” says the insider.
Earlier this week, PEOPLE confirmed the revelation in Spears’ book. She writes that the pregnancy “was a surprise” but not “a tragedy,” as she was in love with Timberlake and hoped to eventually have children with him.
“But Justin definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy,” writes the “Toxic” singer, now 41, in the book. “He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.”
Spears adds in The Woman in Me that she would’ve chosen to have the baby, however, “Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father.”
She describes the experience undergoing the abortion in the memoir as “one of the most agonizing” moments of her life.
After Spears and Timberlake split in 2002, she went on to become a mother, welcoming two sons — Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17 — with ex-husband Kevin Federline. The “Mirrors” singer later married actress Biel in 2012, and the couple share sons Silas, 8, and Phineas, 3.
“Starting a family was my dream come true,” the pop princess told PEOPLE via email in a recent cover story interview of raising her boys, who now live with their dad in Hawaii, but are in contact with Spears. “Being a mom was my dream come true.”
Timberlake publicly apologized for his treatment of Spears in February 2021, writing in a post also dedicated to Janet Jackson that he was “deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn or did not speak up for what was right.”
“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others … I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed,” he wrote.
Spears’ upcoming book follows the 2021 termination of her 13-year-long conservatorship, which Timberlake also spoke out about in June of that year. After Spears revealed she wanted “to end the conservatorship,” Timberlake wrote to his fans on social media that “we should all be supporting Britney at this time.”
“Regardless of our past, good and bad, and no matter how long ago it was… what’s happening to her is just not right,” he wrote. “No woman should ever be restricted from 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.”
Timberlake then ended his messages on Twitter with words of support on behalf of himself and Biel.
“Jess and I send our love, and our absolute support to Britney during this time,” he shared. “We hope the courts, and her family make this right and let her live however she wants to live.”
With the release of The Woman in Me, Spears looks to reclaim her voice.
“Over the past 15 years or even at the start of my career, I sat back while people spoke about me and told my story for me,” she told PEOPLE. “After getting out of my conservatorship, I was finally free to tell my story without consequences from the people in charge of my life.”
The much-anticipated memoir is out Oct. 24 through Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
For more of the exclusive excerpt and interview with Britney Spears, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
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