*NSYNC member was discovered sneaking around with another well-known singer years before Britney Spears claimed her ex Justin Timberlake had cheated on her.
In 2000, after a night out, Timberlake and Nicole Appleton of the English girl group All Saints were pictured by paparazzi returning to his hotel in London.
Fans have found a newspaper clipping from that era again on social media, which features the 19-year-old Timberlake and the 25-year-old Appleton hiding from photographers by ducking down in the back seat of a car.
The two were also seen walking together by shutterbugs as they went from the Mayfair Club to the St. Martins Lane hotel, which was the supposed residence of the “Bye Bye Bye” crooner.
When the photos were shot, Timberlake was still “dating American teen temptress, Britney Spears,” according to the article with the heading “Nic and guy act so shy.”
Years later, a former makeup artist for Spears stated that the pop star couple had “some issues” following their covert outing.
“She had her questions about who he was with because stuff would be out in the press. They were very famous,” Julianne Kaye told the Mirror in 2022. “So he’d be out with some girl from All Saints, and she’d get very jealous.”
After TMZ revealed on Wednesday that Spears, 41, will write in her upcoming memoir, “The Woman in Me,” that Timberlake, 42, had cheated on her during their three-year relationship, the rumors started to resurface.
The Princess of Pop claims that the “Mirrors” singer cheated on her with another famous person, whose identity she declined to reveal since the latter is a mother today.
Appleton, 48, has a son, Gene, 22, and a daughter, Skipper 3, with her ex-husband, Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, though it’s unclear if Appleton is the mystery star. She is currently married to Stephen Haines.
In addition, Timberlake is a father of two sons, Silas, age eight, and Phineas, age three. He wed Jessica Biel in 2012.
“The Woman in Me” is filled with bombshells, including Spears’ revelation that she had an abortion in 2000 because Timberlake “definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy” and “didn’t want to be a father.”
In 2002, the boy band member made public claims that the “Toxic” singer had cheated on him, and that year, the former Mouseketeers called it quits. She never acknowledged or refuted the rumors.
Spears and her ex-husband Kevin Federline have two sons: Jayden, 17, and Sean Preston, 18.