Britney Spears has spoken about trading her ‘freedom’ during her controversial conservatorship in order to see her children in her soon-to-be-released memoir, The Woman In Me.
In her book, the 41-year-old singer alleged that she went along with the terms of her now-terminated conservatorship – which ran from 2008-2021 – in order to spend time with her boys Sean, 18, and Jayden, 17.
The hitmaker, who recently opened up about her 2003 fling with Colin Farrell, also discussed her ultimately futile attempts to resist the conditions of her arrangement with her father, Jamie Spears, who under the conservatorship had complete control of her assets and worth alongside attorney Andrew Wallet.
Ex-husband Kevin Federline was give sole legal and physical custody of their sons in 2008 after Spears was hospitalized after she locked herself in a bathroom with her sons and refused to turn them over to Federline
‘My freedom in exchange for naps with my children — it was a trade I was willing to make,’ she wrote via People.
Hard choice: Britney Spears spoke about trading her ‘freedom’ for the ability to see her children in her soon-to-be-released memoir, The Woman In Me; she is seen with her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James in 2013
Battle: In February 2008 she was placed under a conservatorship controlled by her father Jamie Spears (pictured together) and attorney Andrew Wallet – which gave them complete control of her assets and worth and would continue for 13 years.
She added: ‘Starting a family was my dream come true. Being a mom was my dream come true.’
The Toxic singer also spoke about how she gave up on pushing back against the control of her father after she went through two involuntary psychological assessments.
‘After being held down on a gurney, I knew they could restrain my body any time they wanted to. And so I went along with it,’ she recalled.
Spears went on to express that she viewed the conservatorship as a particularly dark period in her life.
She wrote: ‘Thirteen years went by with me feeling like a shadow of myself. I think back now on my father and his associates having control over my body and my money for that long and it makes me feel sick.’
Spears’ controversial arrangement, which began in 2008, was ultimately ended in November of 2021.
Britney and Kevin’s relationship was chronicled in the reality program Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, which aired for a single season in 2005.
The couple announced their engagement, which occurred after just three months of dating, in July of 2004, and they held a wedding ceremony two months later.
Tough decision: In her book, the 41-year-old singer alleged that she went along with the terms of her controversial and now-terminated conservatorship in order to spend time with her boys Sean, 18, and Jayden, 17; she is seen with her sons in 2013
Parents: Spears shares her sons with her former husband, Kevin Federline, whom she first met at a club in 2004
Harsh memories: Spears wrote that she was forced to give up ‘my freedom in exchange for naps with my children — it was a trade I was willing to make’
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Spears and Federline, 45, went on to welcome Sean in September of 2005, and they added Jayden to their family the following September.
However, the singer filed for divorce that November, and her marriage was formally dissolved in 2007.
Although the two co-parented their children for several years, the former rapper began serving as their full-time caretaker while their mother fought to end her conservatorship.
Federline has since moved to Hawaii with Sean and Jayden, who remain in contact with their mother, although the pair made the decision to stop seeing their mother in early 2022.
In an Instagram video, Spears went on to admonish her kids for ‘making the claims that “she’s not good now” and “she wants attention.”
Spears’ Instagram rant came after her sons spoke out about their relationship in a 60 Minutes interview.
Jayden said during the interview that there is ‘no hate’ towards his mother, but he said, ‘it will take a lot of time and effort’ to repair their fractured relationship.
‘I 100% think this can be fixed. It’s just going to take a lot of time and effort. I just want her to get better mentally. When she gets better I really want to see her again. ‘
Speaking directly to their mother, he adds: ‘I love you a lot, I hope for the best for you. Maybe one day we can sit down like this and talk again.’
Britney shocked her fans when she testified in June 2021 that her conservatorship, which was put in place in 2008, prevented her from getting married or even having another child.
Over and done with: Spears’ controversial arrangement, which began in 2008, was ultimately ended in November of 2021
‘I want to be able to get married and have a baby,’ she said during a conservatorship hearing in 2021.
‘I was told right now in the conservatorship, I’m not able to get married or have a baby, I have an IUD inside of myself right now so I don’t get pregnant.’
Her wish was granted six months later, in November 2021, when a judge officially terminated the conservatorship.