Jamie Lynn Spears is entering a major new chapter as a mom.
The 35-year-old Zoey 101 star is opening up about her close bond with her 18-year-old daughter Maddie, who recently graduated high school and is preparing to head to the University of Southern Mississippi in August.
Maddie, who plans to study health sciences and play softball, recently found herself relating to another famous mother-daughter duo: Lorelai and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls.
“They grew up together, and we kind of did, too,” Maddie told People in their first joint interview together about being raised by Jamie, who welcomed her when she was just 17.
Jamie Lynn Spears is reflecting on becoming a mom so young
Jamie became pregnant with Maddie at 16 while she was starring on Zoey 101 and dating then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge. At the time, she was dealing with intense public scrutiny.
“I was called the biggest letdown in the world,” she recalled.
After stepping away from Hollywood, Jamie focused on creating a quieter life for Maddie. in Louisiana.
“It really was just me and her,” she said, as she and Casey eventually split. “I had to be like, ‘Look, this little girl needs you. You better figure it out.’ I wanted to create a good, stable life for my daughter.”
Maddie said her mom was protective, but she understood why.
“She was definitely strict but with good reason. She just wants me to be safe,” Maddie shared. “We just had fun together because she did have me so young.”
Maddie’s accident changed their family forever
Jamie‘s family grew when she married businessman Jamie Watson, 45, in 2014, but their lives were rocked in 2017 when Maddie was involved in a near-fatal ATV accident.
She was trapped underwater in a pond on the family’s property and was airlifted to a hospital, where she remained in coma for two days.
While Maddie doesn’t remember the crash, she said the experience deeply affected their family.
“I feel like our faith got a lot stronger,” she said. “It definitely put things into perspective.”
Jamie said Maddie had been asking for a sibling before the accident, and that request came right back after she woke up.
“When she came out of her coma, she’s like, ‘You going to give me that baby?’” Jamie recalled.
The following year, Jamie welcomed daughter Ivey, now 8.
“We always say she just went up to heaven to go pick out her little sister,” she joked.
Jamie says Maddie will “always be my baby”
As the family prepares for Maddie to go to college, Jamie said she is proud but the transition is an emotional one. The family is spending plenty of time together with softball and movie nights.
“I’m so proud of her and everything she’s done, but I also cry in the car because I’m not going to have my baby home every day,” she said, adding, “She’s always going to be my baby.”
And while Maddie is preparing to step into adulthood, Jamie already has a sweet vision for the future.
“I hope I’m working at her doctor’s office,” she said. “And I hope I’m hanging out with our grandbabies [one day] and just spoiling them rotten, driving her nuts, living across the way just like we do now.”
No matter where life takes them next, Maddie is confident that their bond is not changing.
“We’ll always have each other’s backs.”
Find out what other celebrities became parents before age 20!
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