Jamie Lynn Spears Says Zoey 101 Didn't Actually End Because She Was Pregnant

Music artist, Performance, Entertainment, Performing arts, Event, Fashion, Public event, Singer, Electric blue, Stage, — (Image credit: Image Group LA)

It's been 14 years since Zoey 101, the hit Nickelodeon show featuring Jamie Lynn Spears, debuted. (In unrelated news, wow, I am really old.) And to commemorate the event, Spears is officially clearing up the controversy that surrounded her sudden departure from the show. No, she wasn't fired for being pregnant.

In 2016, Spears appeared in Jamie Lynn Spears: When the Lights Go Out. In it, she discussed discovering she was expecting at age 16. "When I became pregnant my world came crashing down," she recalled, as reported in Daily Mail.

She said the show had wrapped, but there will still episodes to air. "I knew I had a lot of young girls who looked up to me and I felt that responsibility but at the end of the day I knew I would have to make a decision as a young girl myself, to do something that I could sleep with at night."

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Lynn added, "I knew deep down that I was going to have my little girl, even if I had to raise her on my own, which is what I did."

Despite the assertion, rumors continued to swirl that Zoey 101 had been cancelled because of Spears' news. In her Instagram post, Spears is firmly setting the record straight, captioning the photo #itdidNOTendbecauseofpregnancy #contractwasfinished.

So that's that! Spears' devoted fans flooded the post (more than 300,000 views and more than 4,500 comments) to tell her how much they loved the show, and her.

Spears has been lying low since the birth of her second child, often posting sweet family photos. But she continues to make music and perform, most recently at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards (RDMA). She also reposted her sister Britney's post about focusing on family and postponing her "Domination" tour in light of the news of their father's illness:

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.

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