Pop star Britney Spears has responded to allegations made by her ex-husband Kevin Federline in his upcoming memoir, You Thought You Knew, set to be released on October 21.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Spears said Federline’s claims are “extremely hurtful and exhausting.” She accused her ex-husband of “constant gaslighting” and expressed frustration over her limited access to their sons, Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19.
“I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys,” Spears wrote. “Relationships with teenage boys are complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life. Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by [their] own father for me.”
Spears added that the boys have had minimal time with her in recent years, noting that one son has seen her for only 45 minutes in the past five years, while the other has visited just four times. She said she will now inform them when she is available and criticized what she called “white lies” in Federline’s book.
Federline’s memoir reportedly includes claims that the couple’s sons were fearful of staying at their mother’s home as teenagers, including an account in which Spears allegedly held a knife in a doorway while they slept. The memoir also discusses the night Spears was placed under a 72-hour involuntary psychiatric hold at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following a standoff with the children.
The couple married in 2004 and divorced in 2007, with Federline gaining full physical custody of their sons. Federline relocated the children to Hawaii with his wife in 2023.
Spears, who was under a conservatorship for 14 years until 2021, reflected in her 2023 memoir on the challenges of losing custody and her desire for independence. In court hearings ending her conservatorship, she stated, “I just want my life back… I deserve to have the same rights as anybody does, by having a child, a family, any of those things, and more so.”
Federline argues in his memoir that ending the conservatorship has negatively affected their sons and emphasized the need for continued support.
