Justin Timberlake Opens Up on "Hurtful" Breakup, Calls Jessica Biel "Most Significant Person in My Life"

Bad Teacher star tells Vanity Fair that he has to "protect" actress and the details of their split

By Gina Serpe Jun 01, 2011 8:44 PMTags
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No hard feelings doesn't quite cover it—no bad feelings is more like.

Amid rumors that he's found love lust with Ashley Olsen, Justin Timberlake opened up to Vanity Fair about his four-year relationship with Jessica Biel, and to say that his praise was anything less than effusive (not to mention genuinely heartwarming) would be doing it a disservice.

Of course, it's statements like this that makes us wonder why they broke up in the first place…

"She is the single-handedly most significant person in my life," he told the magazine of his ex. "In my 30 years, she is the most special person, OK? So I protect it, and until somebody shows me what would be more fulfilling at this point, that's what I have to do."

"I would rather not talk about her, because it's hurtful for me. It's unfortunate that even though you make the effort to say something, which I tried on for size, people do what they want to do," he went on, referring to the inability of his and Biel's joint breakup statement to squash either rumors or interest in their uncoupling.

"I don't want to say much more, because I have to protect things that are dear to me—for instance, her."

No need, really, since what he already said speaks volumes.

While Timberlake remains a gentleman and refuses to go into details on his split, the relationship's impact was apparently considerable, as he revealed that while, "as little as six months ago, I wouldn't have even thought about [starting a family], but not it feels like a closer planet orbiting around."

As for the possibility of marriage, well, that planet isn't orbiting nearly as close.

"I don't know. If that's what it takes for two people to make it official, then yeah, but I think that my generation looks at marriage differently.

"I think the mistake is that people commit to who that person is right then and not the person they're going to become. That's the art of staying together, is changing together. When you say it like that, it seems damn near impossible, right?"