BABY ONE MORE TIME
Inside Britney Spears’ desperate battle to get car crash life back on track after secret Mother’s Day call with her boys
Britney lost full-time custody of her sons in 2007 after an infamous breakdown
IT was a nervy phone conversation between a mother and her two estranged sons that tugs at the heartstrings.
On one end of the line was Britney Spears, whose mental health struggles have been well documented as the sorry saga of her life has played out in the full glare of publicity.
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On the other end were sons Sean Preston, 18, and 17-year-old Jayden James, whose relationship with her crashed under the strain of the singer’s 13-year conservatorship.
But that Mothers’ Day call shared by the three in May could be the bridge that finally reunites the Toxic pop hitmaker with the boys she calls the “loves of my life”.
Britney lost full-time custody of her sons in 2007 after an infamous breakdown during which she shaved her head.
The US star was allowed only supervised visits to see her boys, then aged two and one, who went to live with her former husband Kevin Federline.
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She now has 30 per cent custody but her relations with her sons hit a rough patch after they chose not to attend their mum’s 2022 wedding to US model Sam Asghari, her now ex.
The teens were also said to be embarrassed by her semi-naked pictures and overtly sexual dance videos posted on Instagram.
But Britney is now at pains to rebuild a loving relationship with her sons — who were once by her side for everything, from Smurf movie premieres to Dodgers baseball games and trips to Disneyland.
This week a family source claimed Britney, 42, was “fully back on track” with the pair, although that seems a little premature at this point.
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‘Perinatal depression’
Britney’s ex and one-time backing dancer Federline denied she had paid secret visits to her sons at their home in Hawaii, but his lawyer issued a statement admitting a reunion may be on the cards.
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Attorney Mark Vincent said: “A reconciliation/reunification is complex and can take time.
“The phone call was a good sign but it’s a process that takes more to accomplish.
“The good thing is, the boys saw their mum was doing well and have a desire to speak with her.”
In another sign Britney is getting her life back together, it has been revealed she no longer needs the services of high-profile US lawyer Mathew Rosengart — the man credited with freeing her from her conservatorship.
She wanted to keep this quiet because she didn’t want to jeopardise their chances of reconciliation, but she’s actually back to being their mum again
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Britney has not been pictured with her sons since 2021 but earlier this month she shared photos of her brother Bryan Spears and referenced her children in the caption — while also suggesting that she is now exchanging messages with them.
She wrote about one image: “I sent it to my kids and I think they got jealous because they said ‘that’s a filter . . . that’s not real.”
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Britney’s brother Bryan, 47, a TV producer, is said to be the key to healing the rift between mother and sons.
A source said: “Bryan was instrumental in facilitating their reunion.
“He cares so much for Britney and his nephews.
“She wanted to keep this quiet because she didn’t want to jeopardise their chances of reconciliation, but she’s actually back to being their mum again.”
Britney’s troubles began soon after she married American Federline, now 46, and became pregnant with first son Sean Preston in 2005.
She dedicated memoir The Woman In Me, published last October, to her boys and called them the “loves of my life”.
But she also shared how her mental health had spiralled just before and after she gave birth.
She wrote: “Unfortunately, there wasn’t the same conversation about mental health back then that there is now.
“I now know that I was displaying just about every symptom of perinatal depression — sadness, anxiety, fatigue.”
With her every move scrutinised, the public watched in horror in February 2006 as footage showed her driving one-handed with then five-month-old Sean Preston on her lap.
In May that year, she took a tumble with her baby, as she held him in one arm while clutching a drink with her other hand.
She was said to be distraught and tearful after the accident.
In September 2006, she gave birth to second child Jayden James but announced within weeks that her marriage to Federline was finished.
As she struggled to come to terms with the marriage breakdown while coping with fame and two small children, Britney’s beloved aunt Sandra, who she once described as like a second mother, died of ovarian cancer
In February 2007, the world again watched aghast as Britney got a hairdresser to shave off her long, brunette locks — and she attacked a paparazzi with an umbrella.
She said in her memoir that she was “out of my mind with grief” at the time.
She wrote: “With my head shaved, everyone was scared of me, even my mom.
“Flailing those weeks without my children, I lost it, over and over again.
“I didn’t even really know how to take care of myself.’”
In January 2008, Britney was sectioned after she locked herself in a bathroom with the two boys and refused to hand them to Federline.
She regained visitation rights in July 2008, as she returned to the spotlight with a documentary, but by then she had been placed under the controversial conservatorship which gave dad Jamie, and lawyers, complete control over her.
She claimed she only agreed to the deal so that she could spend more time with her boys amid ongoing custody issues.
She said that she thought she would get her sons back if she “played along.”
She wrote in her book: “My freedom in exchange for naps with my children — it was a trade I was willing to make.
“Starting a family was my dream come true, being a mom was my dream come true.”
The guardianship meant Britney was given 50/50 custody with Federline — but then things between them again seemed to break down in 2019 when her sons filed a restraining order against their grandad Jamie, amid claims he had broken down a door.
During the #FreeBritney legal fight to regain her freedom it then emerged that she had been desperate to become a mum again — but had been forced to keep in place an IUD contraceptive device against her will.
It was this week revealed that Britney no longer needs legal advice after a settlement deal with her father following the conservatorship.
A year after breaking free, she wed long-term beau Sam Asghari and in April 2022 announced she was expecting — but the following month she miscarried.
Her sons did not attend the wedding but dad Federline issued a statement: “They’re happy for their mom and hopeful Sam and Britney are starting a great future.
“It’s their [wedding] night and they didn’t want to take [attention] away.”
Britney and Sam split last August after six years together, amid explosive rows and rumour of her cheating.
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To add to Britney’s woes, Federline moved to Hawaii the same month with her sons after his wife Victoria Prince was offered a job at the university there.
In 2022, he said the boys wished not to see their mum, after her revealing shots on Instagram left them red-faced.
He said: “I try to explain to them, ‘Look, maybe that’s just another way she tries to express herself’.
But that doesn’t take away from what it does to them. It’s tough. I can’t imagine how it feels to be a teenager having to go to high school.”
Meanwhile Britney posted on Instagram: “I used to have my kids way more than him [Federline].
“From when they were six to nine years old, I had them 70 per cent of the time, and in the time since they’ve been gone, I’ve felt a huge part of me has died and like I have no purpose.
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“They were my joy; they were my everything.”
Hopefully the troubled singer can now build a relationship with the sons she misses so badly.
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