Los Angeles, California - Chris Applebaum, who directed the music video for Britney Spears' song Overprotected, dished on the moment that Justin Timberlake broke up with her via text while she was on set!

During his interview on the Hyperfixated with Joseph Shepherd podcast, the 56-year-old revealed that the exes' split happened on the second day of shooting the single's video.

Applebaum recalled that the crew was "waiting" on the Toxic hitmaker, and he eventually went to "go and f**king get Britney myself out of the trailer."

The director said that while en route, he was warned by Britney's choreographer, Brian Friedman, to "get away" from the "bad situation."

Selena Gomez Is Selena Gomez hanging up her wand for good after Wizards of Waverly Place sequel?

"I walked in, and Britney was there. And I was like, 'Is everything okay?' And everyone's solemn, and they have iron curtain eyes. They're really dark," Chris explained.

When he inquired what happened, the Womanizer singer showed him her flip phone with a text from her "boyfriend" asking to "end the relationship."

Chris told Britney, who began dating the *NSYNC star in 1999, that he would "understand" if she wanted to end the shoot, but was suddenly "inspired" by the pop star's box of animal crackers.

"The other thing you could do, you could get back out there and do a performance that's so hot that you show him that he just lost – he just messed up the best thing he's ever had," Chris recalled telling Britney.

He said the Criminal singer agreed to the "lightbulb" idea, adding, "And she came out, and that's why that performance was so cool."

Britney dished that Justin ended their three-year relationship via text in her memoir, The Woman in Me, and revealed that the Mirrors artist cheated on her with another famous lady.

She also detailed her painful abortion after becoming pregnant with his child.