In his highly anticipated new memoir, dancer, D.J., and Britney Spears’s ex-husband, Kevin Federline, offers a candid look into their complicated relationship. He voices significant apprehension, suggesting that the decision four years ago to end the pop star’s conservatorship may have been a mistake.
Federline, 47, chronicles his journey from a spirited youth in Fresno, California, to becoming a husband and father to two children with the iconic singer in ‘You Thought You Knew,’ set to be released on October 21.
Their three-year marriage concluded with divorce in 2007, followed by a tumultuous custody battle that finally resolved in 2008. In his book, Federline shares his account of this contentious period, detailing Spears’s alleged struggles with drugs and alcohol, alongside volatile outbursts during the final stages of their union.
Over the past 18 years since their separation, Federline has largely observed his ex-wife’s life from afar, focusing on their co-parenting efforts. “We haven’t spoken in years,” Federline shared in a recent interview. Yet, his memoir reveals growing alarm over what he describes as Spears’s increasingly erratic behavior, information he primarily gathered secondhand from their sons, Sean Preston, now 20, and Jayden James, 19.
Image: Kevin Federline reflecting on his relationship with Britney Spears for his upcoming memoir.
One particularly unsettling chapter details an incident where their teenage sons, citing fear, refused to return to their mother’s home. Federline writes, “They would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep — ‘Oh, you’re awake?’ — with a knife in her hand. Then she’d turn around and pad off without explanation.”
The book’s penultimate chapter sees Federline articulating the full scope of his worries.
“The truth is, this situation with Britney feels like it’s racing toward something irreversible,” he states. He adds, “It’s become impossible to pretend everything’s OK. From where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.”
Spears’s spokesperson declined to comment on the memoir’s contents. In her own memoir, which is reportedly being adapted into a film, Spears has previously refuted claims of significant substance abuse and described her custody battle with Federline as deeply traumatizing. She asserted that Federline prevented her from seeing her sons for extended periods, attempting to paint her as “completely out of control” to gain full custody years ago.
Federline, who has also ventured into reality television, confirmed he has not discussed the memoir’s details with Spears directly.
“I’ve never, ever, once, been against Britney,” Federline emphasized in the interview. “I’ve only tried to help my sons have an incredible relationship with their mother. And it’s hard because when I really reflect on everything that’s happened — my kids do not know the woman that I married. And I’ve spent two decades trying to bridge that gap.”
Image: Kevin Federline and Britney Spears during their marriage.
Despite the ongoing tension, Spears has publicly expressed a desire to mend her relationship with her sons, having shared social media posts over the last year acknowledging their time together.
Spears’s ascent to global pop superstardom was famously followed by a conservatorship that managed her financial and personal affairs, implemented in 2008 after her mental health challenges became public.
Federline’s book also revisits the dramatic night when Spears was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, placed on a 72-hour involuntary psychiatric hold after a tense three-hour standoff involving their children.
“It was one of the hardest nights of my life,” Federline recalls. “I felt sick over what she was going through. This was someone I had loved. Someone I had built a life with. The mother of my children.”
A Los Angeles judge ultimately terminated the conservatorship in 2021, determining it was “no longer required.”
However, Federline suggests in his book that while the “Free Britney movement” — the fan-led campaign to end the conservatorship — might have originated with good intentions, it severely demonized those around Spears. He fears this has now left professionals too intimidated to offer her the necessary help.
“All those people who put so much effort into that,” he urges, “should now put the same energy into the ‘Save Britney’ movement. Because this is no longer about freedom. It’s about survival.”
Recently, Spears has once again attracted tabloid attention and reportedly sparked concern among her inner circle. This includes social media posts showing her dancing in a mansion, which appeared to have dog excrement on the floor, and another post mentioning a bandaged knee, stating “it snaps out now and then, not sure if it’s broken.”
While Federline admits in his memoir that he doesn’t have a perfect “solution” for the path ahead, he implores anyone who has ever been touched by Britney’s story to rally behind his children and their mother.
“Now, more than ever, they need your support,” he concludes. “I’ve been their buffer for years, but now it’s bigger than me. It’s time to sound the alarm.”