In an interview to promote her revealing new biography, Pattie discussed how the ‘Baby’ singer may never have come into being after friends and family encouraged her to get an abortion when she fell pregnant with Justin at just 17 years old.
Justin with his mother Pattie at the CMT Music Awards last year. Credit: Getty Images
Pattie, 36, said that it all began when she was subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of a male babysitter and a friend’s grandfather when she was just four years old. The single mother went on to suffer drug and alcohol issues, leading to an attempted suicide as fall out from the horrific attacks. She was 15 when she lost her virginity.
‘I was full of shame,’ she said. ‘I’ve learned it’s normal for anybody who’s been through sexual abuse to carry that shame and blame and feel like there’s something wrong with you. I definitely carried that.’
Pattie gives son Justin a hug during filming for the ‘Today’ interview. Credit: NBC NewsWire via Getty Images
By 17, Pattie had reunited with on-off boyfriend Jeremy Bieber when she found out she was pregnant. Despite friends and family encouraging her to terminate the pregnancy, she said it was never an option. ‘I just knew I couldn’t,’ she said. ‘I just know I had to keep him. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. But I just knew that I couldn’t abort. I had to do my best, and I was determined to do whatever it took.’
At 18, Pattie gave birth to a healthy boy whom she called Justin, despite referring to him as Jessie throughout her pregnancy. When asked about her newborn son’s cries, she said, ‘I know this sounds crazy, but it sounded like he was singing. He did!’
Raising Justin was mostly a solo job, done with the help of Pattie’s parents, Bruce and Diane, after eventually splitting from Justin’s father Jeremy, working a string of low-paying office jobs and living in low-income housing. Jeremy went on to marry and have two more children.
At the age of 12, Pattie entered Justin into a singing competition called the Stratford Star. She also uploaded videos to Youtube of Justin singing to keep his grandmother, who lived in another part of Canada, up to date. The videos caught the eye of Scooter Braun, now Justin’s manager, who pestered Pattie to sign him up until she finally relented.
‘You just hear all these stories in the industry, the teenagers and how crazy they can go,’ she said. ‘I just had to come to terms with the fact that whether he’s in high school, at home or in the industry, there’s those same fears.’
Worth a reported $108 million and a three-time platinum artist, Justin had nothing but praise for his mother. ‘She’s been a friend – someone I can talk to you and a good role model,’ Justin said. ‘I want to grow up and have just the heart that my mum has, because she has such a big heart.’
