[WATCH] Emotional Jamie Lynn Spears in TV comeback: I’m not just a teen mom, someone’s sister

MANILA, Philippines – In a new sneak peek for her television special on TLC, When the Lights Go Out, a teary-eyed Jamie Lynn Spears looks back on the rocky time in her career when she discovered that she was going to be a mother at 16.

The younger sister of pop star Britney Spears, now 25, was then a star on Nickelodeon’s All That and Zoey 101. 

In 2007, when she announced that she was pregnant with her then-boyfriend, Casey Aldridge, she became the subject of controversy in the media. A flurry of voice-overs in the teaser video pronounce such cruel judgements for her, who bore a child out of wedlock: “I’m telling you right now, her life is over,” “Her career is over,” and more.

“A lot of horrible, nasty things were said,” she recounted. “They said, ‘Yes, you’re pregnant.’ I look back now, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.'”

Her parents, Jamie and Lynne, also appear in the special to weigh in on that tumultuous time in her life.

She split with Maddie’s father in 2009. In a 2012 interview with Glamour, she said, “It’s sad because my and Casey’s love had to turn into an adult relationship so quickly. There’s a slim chance of two young people making it through high school and all that drama, but making it as parents?”

“We tried. We really wanted to do it right. We loved each other. I will love him as Maddie’s father until the day I die.”

The teaser also gives a glimpse behind the scenes of her budding country music career, and of course, shows her daughter Maddie, now 7.

She seems to have found peace, as according to Us Weekly, she married her husband Jamie Watson in March 2014 and released a country album in May of the same year.

There is also footage of her performance in Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, with her older sister Britney herself introducing her. “Not only is she beautiful and extremely talented, she’s my little sister,” she tells the crowd.

“I wanna do something that I’m proud of,” Jamie Lynn says in the teaser. “I’m not just a child star. I’m not just someone’s sister, and I’m not just a teen mom.”

“For the first time, this is the real story. My past isn’t everything – it all leads to this moment.”

When the Lights Go Out premieres on June 26 in the United States on TLC. – Rappler.com