5 APRIL 2002
Just days after the revelation of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s break-up, the ’N Sync hunk’s mother says the two have simply “hit a rough spot”.

“They are just having problems right now,” Lynn Harless tells People magazine.

Lynn revealed the pressure of fame has taken its toll on the world-famous couple, with Britney on a whirlwind tour of Europe to promote her first feature film, Crossroads, and Justin hard at work with ’N Sync. Saddled with high profiles and tight schedules, they “aren’t normal kids who can sit down and say, ‘Let’s talk about this’,” says Lynn.

Despite Britney’s recent declaration that she is not “in an intense relationship with anyone at the moment”, her ex-flame’s mum sees it a bit differently. “They are two kids who have intense feelings for each other,” she says, adding, “Good things are intense, and bad things are the same way.”

Whatever Britney’s feelings towards her former boyfriend, she has shown a change of heart in at least one aspect. The Overprotected singer, who had planned to dub her soon-to-be-opened Big Apple restaurant “Pinky” – Justin’s pet name for her – has decided to go with a different moniker. The new eatery, opening some time this spring, will now be called “Nyla”, a combination of the initials of New York and her home state of Lousiana.