When Christina Aguilera Admitted to Crushing on Justin Timberlake Amid His Romance with Britney Spears

Britney Spears revealed far too many shocking details regarding her well-known romance with Justin Timberlake in her biography, The Woman in Me. The Toxic hitmaker recalled her instant connection with the Sexy Back singer in her book saying, “Being in the show was boot camp for the entertainment industry: there were extensive dance rehearsals, singing lessons, acting classes, time in the recording studio, and school in between… And quickly I connected with a boy named Justin Timberlake.” They first got together as teenagers on the set of 1993's New Mickey Mouse Club, the third version of the youth-focused Walt Disney variety show. But according to Christina Aguilera, who subsequently admitted to having a crush on the former member of NSYNC, sparks were flying in all directions at the time. “Even back then, he had swag. There was me and Britney — well now, you know — there was a thing back then.” 

As per Fandomwire, the Genie in a Bottle hitmaker candidly admitted the matters of her heart during an episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. When Corden made fun of Aguilera for joining the Timberlake bandwagon back then, she called the Cry Me a River singer "fancy." In her candid memoir, Spears did address Timberlake's affair spree, “There were a couple of times during our relationship when I knew Justin had cheated on me. Especially because I was so infatuated and so in love, I let it go, even though the tabloids seemed determined to rub my face in it. When NSYNC went to London in 2000, photographers caught him with one of the girls from All Saints in a car. But I never said anything. At the time we’d only been together for a year.”

 It was speculated that Aguilera and Timberlake dated back then, however, the rumors were soon put to rest when the Beautiful songstress cleared the air by saying, "He and Britney made a great couple. I’ve known the both of them since [Mickey Mouse Club], and they kind of had their little crushes even back then,” Aguilera told Rolling Stone in 2003. “Britney has known him for such a long time, too —before he was Justin Timberlake, the star, when he was just Justin, the kid on the Mickey Mouse Club. I don’t know, I have a feeling that there’s going to be some reconciliation. I know that they talk and everything, and it’s cool. I don’t think it’s over.”

Timberlake too dismissed the rumors saying, “We’ve been rumored to have had a romance, which is so far off. We’re two people who are just very platonic,” he said. “You know, I can’t say that we’re the best of friends, we don’t hang out all the time, but that’s more or less because of what we do, and the schedule is so crazy.” As per Billboard, Aguilera recently discussed the "double standards" she encountered traveling with the Mirrors singer for the Stripped [&] Justified Tour. While appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast in April she told the host Alex Cooper, “There was a lot of double standards with it,” she said.

“Because I went on tour with Justin, we did the Stripped [&] Justified tour, and there were things where I was just like, ‘Why is it okay for him and not okay for me, you know what I mean?'” “I was constantly pushing back in my way,” the Learning to Fly songstress added. “It was so inappropriate sometimes, the things [the media] asked about that era.” Cooper agreed with Aguilera, adding that the “comparison of a man doing the same thing — it’s like, ‘I’m doing the same thing and I’m being called a slut, and he’s, like, the boy next door.'” 

“I was like, ‘I have to do songs that mean something to me and are valid to who I am and being fearless and talking about anything,’” Aguilera said on the podcast while discussing being treated unfairly in comparison to Timberlake. “And that includes sexuality! I felt that there was a lot of shame and fear around the subject … so I just wanted to be who I was and make a safe space for everyone to feel food — and make it a conversation.”