Feel Old Yet? Jamie Lynn Spears’ Daughter Is Going To College

Prepare to have your mind blown, readers: Jamie Lynn Spears’ oldest daughter is headed off to college!

The former Zoey 101 star and younger sister of Britney Spears expressed her pride over 16-year-old Maddie Aldridge committing to the university after her 2025 high school graduation, while similarly recalling the very different place she was at Maddie’s age.

In a photo set shared to Instagram on November 25, Jamie Lynn Spears revealed where her daughter, Maddie, would be attending college after she graduates high school next year.

“[I’m] in my feels, [because] my baby girl has committed to furthering her athletic & academic career at the University of Southern [Mississippi],” the 33-year-old Nickelodeon alum wrote.

Noting the arduous life journey Maddie has endured, Jamie Lynn refused to take credit for the hard work Maddie exuded to achieve her collegiate goals.

“I feel like I can’t take much credit for anything,” Spears continued. “I have witnessed this kid go through, face, & overcome some impossible things by her own strong will, convictions, determination, [and] the sheer grace of God.”

“I think her story is a true testament to trusting God’s will & being able to achieve whatever you’re willing to work hard for,” the actress went on to say, “and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

In her Instagram post, Jamie Lynn couldn’t help but acknowledge the juxtaposition of Maddie’s life at 16, and her own experience at that age, which saw her pregnant with Maddie by her former boyfriend, Casey Aldridge. She is now married to businessman Jamie Watson.

“I can remember it like it was just yesterday,” Spears recalled, “as the whole world watched and judged as I made the choice to have my baby at 16 years old.”

Spears faced severe media scrutiny for the shocking announcement in 2007, which came almost immediately after Zoey 101 finished filming.

Public outcry over Jamie Lynn’s surprising admission led parents of her young fanbase to request to have the series pulled from the airwaves, despite the teenaged Spears not being visibly pregnant during the show’s fourth and final season.

“Fast [forward] to today, and that same little baby girl is now 16 years old herself,” Spears continued in her Instagram post regarding Maddie, “[and] announcing that she will be going to play D1 ball for an amazing college.”

Later in Jamie Lynn’s post, the proud mom explained how the work she did to improve her life was ultimately to ensure Maddie had the best upbringing possible.

“I did everything I could to better myself in order to be the mama she deserved,” Spears said, “[and] to break those generational curses, so they weren’t passed on to her or any future generations.”

In her own Instagram post shared that same day, Maddie expressed how her family’s support was paramount to allowing her to achieve her dreams and enroll in the University of Southern Mississippi.

“I am so excited and blessed to announce my verbal commitment, for my academic and athletic career, to the University of Southern Mississippi,” the teen shared.

“I am so thankful to all the players, coaches, and family that have supported me and made it possible to get to the point I am today. This is a dream come true and I am truly blessed!”

Seeing Jamie Lynn celebrate Maddie’s college plans becomes all the more meaningful when looking back at the accident that nearly ended the young girl’s life.

In 2017, Jamie Lynn and Maddie, then just 8 years old, were visiting family in Kentwood, LA, when during an ATV ride, Maddie somehow ended up inside a lake on the property. As she was strapped into the ATV at the time, she nearly drowned.

As reported by PEOPLE, Jamie Lynn recalled the terrifying accident in her 2023 memoir, Things I Shouldn’t Say.

“The first responder got in the water just as the ATV was dragged from the pond,” Spears shared in the book, adding:

“He lifted Maddie out and laid her down next to me. She was unconscious, her body distended, face swollen and eerily blue. The EMT started CPR. Nothing was working — not the compressions or the forced influx of air. No response.”

Though her mother-in-law relayed Maddie was dead to Jamie Lynn’s mother, Lynne Spears, EMT workers were soon able to get a pulse.

The matter was touch-and-go for several days, but Maddie ultimately made a full recovery with no lasting brain damage.

“That was a miracle,” Jamie Lynn told the publication. “There’s a lot of dark things in this world today, and I think that putting something out there like that, that is so wonderful, is something that should be shared, especially when it made so many changes in a lot of lives for the better.”

Another display of how fast Maddie has grown up before Jamie Lynn’s eyes can be seen in her stunning junior prom photos, which were shared with E! News back in April.

In the photos, Maddie is seen wearing a sparkling pink, one-shoulder gown while holding a bouquet of roses given to her by her prom date. In another, Maddie towers over her mom while the two pose with Maddie’s beau for the occasion.

Don’t let their height difference fool you, however, as Jamie Lynn is ready to go to bat for her daughter – even against her superstar sister’s biggest supporters.

“I will absolutely not allow my children, especially my oldest daughter, who was very affected by [Britney’s conservatorship hearings], to feel this in her life,” Spears told Variety in 2023.

“My strength is out of the love for my children and wanting to make sure that I don’t give way to anything other than what I know to be authentic and true.”

Jamie Lynn is also the mother of 6-year-old Ivey, her first daughter with Watson.