The message Jessica Biel shared on Instagram marking Justin Timberlake’s 44th birthday was reflective and refreshingly honest. “Another year to make memories that I keep sacred in my heart,” she captioned a January 31 carousel of photos of the singer with her and their sons, Silas, 9, and Phineas, 4. “Another year growing and evolving and sometimes devolving, with you. Another year laughing about it all.”
But they certainly weren’t laughing eight months ago, when Justin spent a night in jail after being arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge. The drama went down in June in Sag Harbor, New York, after he’d gone out to a hotel bar with pals. Though a lawyer for the Trolls star insisted Justin had consumed just one drink over two hours during the hang session, in September, he pleaded guilty to a lesser, non-criminal charge — driving while ability impaired — and publicly admitted he’d made a “mistake” he hoped others could learn from. “I know that I certainly have,” he said.
Privately, though, Justin faced something far more difficult: “Knowing he’d let Jessica down — again,” a source exclusively explains. “He felt ashamed.”
Justin Timberlake Tested His Marriage and Found Ways to ‘Channel Stress’
Five years ago, Justin subjected his wife of 12 years — who, unknown to the world at the time, was newly pregnant with their second child — to what he called an “embarrassing” situation: He was photographed touching and holding hands with a female costar during a night off from shooting the film Palmer in New Orleans. Justin denied cheating but admitted he’d “displayed a strong lapse in judgment” after drinking “way too much.”
Following the incident, “Justin and Jessica had a lot of therapy. He took responsibility and pledged to make a full-blown lifestyle change. He stopped going out with single friends and cut way back on booze,” reveals the source. “He wanted a fresh start and in time, he won Jessica over and their marriage began to flourish again.”
Then he got “restless,” says the source, leading to his arrest in the Hamptons. “Right away, Justin recommitted committed to making changes,” adds the source. “He’s learning to channel stress in a healthy way instead of blowing off steam through partying.”
Jessica’s changed, too. “For most of their relationship, Justin held the majority of the power — it was very imbalanced. Then the New Orleans fiasco happened, and Jessica came this close to leaving him,” explains the source. “She isn’t a pushover with Justin anymore. They still have their struggles, but now Jessica almost always has the last word.”
