Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake didn’t have the summer they expected. In June, the 43-year-old singer was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York for a DWI. He’s since accepted a plea deal that included a $500 fine, plus a $260 surcharge, and 25 hours of community service to be completed in the next year. While his legal issues are almost behind him, Timberlake might be dealing with complications in his marriage to Biel.
Not only did “the arrest really put a strain on his marriage,” according to an In Touch Weekly source, it also put Biel’s friends on high alert. “Behind the scenes, Jessica’s friends have talked to her about his behavior – they hate that so much of her life is about keeping Justin on track when he’s drinking and partying with friends,” the insider added.
The former 7th Heaven star hasn’t hidden the fact that being married to Timberlake can be challenging. “It’s always a work in progress, right?” she said on The View in May ahead of his arrest. “It’s constantly trying to find the balance, trying to find the time.” Timberlake was on tour most of the summer, so the couple didn’t have a lot of time to process his actions and how it impacted their family.
Biel prefers life out of the spotlight and was the catalyst for their family moving from Los Angeles to Montana for a quieter life for sons Silas, 9, and Phineas, 4. “You get hammered on the East Coast. You kind of get hammered on the West Coast. That’s why we don’t really live there anymore,” she said on SiriusXM’s Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa in May. “We’re just trying to create some normalcy for these kids.”
Timberlake, who has repeatedly apologized to Biel and the other women in his life he’s disappointed, might have to fight for his marriage this time around. According to the In Touch Weekly source, “Friends are wondering if there are just too many issues to move past.” It sounds like the ball is in Biel’s court to make that decision.