Jamie Lynn Spears is opening up about how her family reacted to her debut performance on Dancing with the Stars.
The 32-year-old star said it “meant everything” to have daughters — Maddie, 15, and Ivey, 5 — in the audience to cheer on her during night one of the dance competition with her mom Lynne Spears.
“It was like, OK, at least to have that, it’s been a day, I got my girls here and my family, and that was it,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “I don’t think it would have been nearly as special without them.”
The Sweet Magnolia actress shared that her daughters were “really proud” of her tango to Mabel’s “Don’t Call Me Up” with partner Alan Bersten.
“My youngest one, she did take a nap through most of the show, but she woke up for my performance,” she said. “And then my oldest one said that she teared up at the end. That made my heart feel like, really, I don’t know. It was weird to see my 15-year-old be proud of watching her mom dance on TV.”
Spears added that joining the ABC dance competition has served as a “bonding experience for us, so I’ve really enjoyed it.”
The former Nickelodeon star shared a series of photos from the premiere with her family on Instagram, sharing, “big THANKS to all those who work so incredibly hard to put on such massively hard production like this, yet still manage to make it so wonderful, even when you’re so nervous ya need to vomit💃🏼”
She continued, “huge THANK YOU to all my friends, family, and fans for the unbelievable support and VOTES for us last night! I’m honored to have this incredible experience, and be able to use it as an opportunity to give back to my #SAG community who can not work as we continue to fight the good fight🖤💛 love y’all. thank y’all.”
She shared in her video package before the night one dance that she’s doing Dancing with the Stars to inspire her daughters.
“I’m here to show my children there’s nothing more rewarding than being afraid to fail and doing it anyway,” she explained.
Last month, it was announced on Good Morning America that Spears was set to join season 32 cast of DWTS.
Asked if she was ready for it, Spears told GMA, “I don’t know if one can ever be 100 percent ready to take on something this big; I didn’t realize what a commitment it is, but it definitely is. I’m ready to challenge myself.”
Are you ready? @jamielynnspears is joining this season of @officialDWTS and teaming up with @Dance10Alan as her partner!
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 12, 2023
Tune in tomorrow when we reveal the full cast LIVE on @GMA! https://t.co/LTV3kNisaQ pic.twitter.com/lfCRvAS2f8
Spears went on to reveal that she’ll be donating her weekly earnings to SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. (The WGA strike has since ended.)
“While everybody else in my community is on strike, I have this unique opportunity where I was offered a chance to work when my community cannot work. So I figured I’ll do this and I will donate my weekly salary … to just give back to them at a time where they can’t give back to themselves,” she said.
As for how her family reacted to the casting news, Spears said they’ve been supportive of her putting on her dance shoes.
“My 15 year old actually was very motivated for me to do this, which was actually very surprising,” she noted. “My 15-year-old was like, ‘You’re going to dance on TV? What are you doing mom?’ But she was like, ‘Mom, you have to do it.’ She’s an athlete so I think she wants to see me kind of push myself.”
“Typically I’d be working on different ventures but I think it’s just important that I have this opportunity,” she continued. “And if I get up there and even if I embarrass myself, I’m doing it for a good reason and hopefully giving back to the community that’s literally given back to me since I was a little girl.”
Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, and streams on Disney+ and Hulu.
.jpg "Quranic Quotes")
