I finally have access to the OK! Interview with Jamie Lynn and Lynne Spears, and there are some details about Casey and Jamie Lynn’s relationship that I haven’t read in other sources yet. There’s also a recent interview with Casey’s uncle that makes it clear Casey is 18, not 19, and that he’s just a month less than two years older than Jamie Lynn. That means that their relationship would not be classified as statutory rape in Louisiana, but that it is legally a misdemeanor in California.

1. Jamie Lynn and Casey are not living together, according to statements she gave to OK! Magazine.
Of course she would deny this when asked directly, but this is what she told OK! She also said she had to call him to tell him she was pregnant and that they had to meet to talk about it the next day, so it doesn’t sound like they were living together.

Are you guys living together?
No, I live with my mom. He lives with his parents. For now, that’s the best thing to do. We need to focus on the baby right now.

[From OK! Magazine, print edition, December 31, 2007]

2. Casey’s birthday is April 29, 1989, which makes him 18. Jamie Lynn’s birthday is April 4, 1991, which makes her 16. They are just under two years apart.

Casey’s uncle told CelebTV that he was born on that date, and his birthday was confirmed with the Mississippi Department of Motor Vehicles.

As we mentioned above, this means that this relationship does not meets the two year age difference cutoff for possible prosecution under Louisiana law, but that under California law it is a misdemeanor that could result in up to one year in county jail.

Here is a recap of the laws on statutory rape in the applicable states:

Louisiana law defines this unlawful carnal knowledge as “sexual intercourse with consent between someone age 19 or older and someone between age 12 and 17.”

In Louisiana a person can only legally consent to sex at age 17. If aged 15 or 16, the other person involved must be no more than two years older for the act to be considered legal…

The Californian Penal Code states that any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 18 who is not more than three year younger than the perpetrator, is guilty of a misdemeanour and faces up to one year in a county jail.

[From The Daily Mail]

3. Jamie Lynn said she met Casey in church when she was 14, but that they were “friends first.” They’ve been dating for two and a half years, which means that when they started dating she was 14 and he was 16.

How long have you and Casey been together?
This Christmas, it’ll be about two and a half years, I think. At first, I was just friends with him; I’ve been friends with him since I was about 14. Then we started dating. I met him at church. He came there with a friend; I came there with a friend. We started talking and then started hanging out.

[From OK! Magazine, print edition, December 31, 2007]

4. Casey and Jamie Lynn both told her mother together about her pregnancy

Jamie Lynn says the first person she told of her pregnancy was “probably Casey,” and that she and Casey told her mom that she was pregnant. She also said she decided to keep the baby because she’s “trying to do the right thing.”

Who did you call first when your pregnancy was confirmed?
It was probably Casey. It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected. I was in a complete and total shock and so was he.

When did you see him after finding out?
The next day, he wanted to meet me in person to talk about what we had to do. It was something we couldn’t really talk about over the phone. We met and talked about everything and decided what we wanted to do. He was 100 percent supportive, and we figured it out.

Was this planned?
Oh, it was a big shock.

Why did you decide to keep the baby?
I think my whole life I would have to live with knowing what I did or what I didn’t do. I’m trying to do the right thing. I think that this is what is going to make me happy in the end.

Other people your age might not be brave enough to take on this kind of commitment…
Well, I was scared at first. I took the time to think about it for myself, and I though: “What would be right for me?” I’m the one who has to live with it for the rest of my life. I put myself in this position, an adult position, so I have to act like an adult and take responsibility for what I did. I have really become at peace with the whole situation, and I think it’s the right thing for me to do. It’s a personal decision that everyone would have to make for themselves. This one is just right for me….

What was [your mom’s] reaction when you told her you were pregnant?
She didn’t really say anything at first. She just kind of looked at me. It was me and Casey that told her. She didn’t believe us. But then she looked at Casey and he’s always been very straightforward, and then she knew it was real. She was very upset because it wasn’t what she expected at all. A week after, she had time to cope with it and became very supportive.

So if Casey and Jamie Lynn are separated as this point, as has been rumored, they were at least close enough when they found out she was pregnant to tell her mother. Jamie Lynn also said in the interview that Casey will make a great father, and that she wants to raise the baby in Louisiana so “it can be around my mom and Casey’s family.”

Header image is an old one of Jamie Lynn and Britney together, thanks to Splash News.