Britney Spears Reflects On Her 2020 Gym Incident

“…remembering when I burnt the gym down…”

Britney Spears recalls her gym burning down in 2020.
(Image credit: Getty Images/Instagram: @britneyspears)

It's common to ruminate on the past and feel reflective as another year ends, and pop icon Britney Spears is—apparently—no different.

On Tuesday, Dec. 19, Spears shared a photo on Instagram of the remains of the home gym she accidentally burned down in April, 2020. In the picture, fans can see what was left behind at the time—blackened, smoke-covered barbells, a non-slip, charred pink balance ball, and other destroyed workout items that (somewhat) survived the fire.

"Reflecting back remembering when I burnt the gym down in 2020 😉🤔 !!!" the 42-year-old mother of two captioned the post.

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A photo posted by britneyspears on

Back in 2020, in a now unavailable live-streamed Instagram video, Spears announced that a mishap with a few candles led to her gym accidentally burning down inside her home.

“Hi guys, I’m in my gym right now. I haven’t been in here for like six months because I burnt my gym down, unfortunately,” Spears said at the time, as reported by CNN back in 2020.

“I had two candles, and yeah, one thing led to another, and I burned it down,” she continued, adding that—thankfully—no one was harmed by the unfortunate incident.

“I walked past the door to the gym and flames BOOM!!!!!!" Spears captioned the Instagram video at the time, elaborating on the details of the incident. "By the Grace of God the alarm went off after that and yippy hoorah nobody got hurt."

According to Spears at the time, the fire devastated the majority of her at-home workout equipment.

“Unfortunately now I have only two pieces of equipment left lol and a one-sided mirror gym,” she wrote. “But it could be much worse so I’m grateful.”

Spears might be contemplating the past as of late, but that doesn't mean she's feeling down in the dumps. In a follow-up Instagram post, Spears left a cryptic message promising "revelations." In it, she wears a short, form-fitting, off-the-shoulder red dress and a matching red cowboy hat while, um, giving the camera "the finger."

Yes, that finger.

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A photo posted by britneyspears on

"When that bird comes up well … are you guessing revelations ??? YOU KNOW 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️😉😉😉 !!! Pss hands on hips honestly !!! Sorry in advance !!!" Spears captioned the mysterious post.

The pop superstar might be feeling somewhat apologetic about her 2020 gym fire mishap, but whatever is coming next doesn't seem to be weighing on her conscience in the slightest!

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.