Britney Spears’ history of public scandals and the demons she battled behind close doors 

After successfully breaking free of her conservatorship in 2021, Britney Spears has been living her life as a free woman.

Yet fans have voiced their concern for the star in recent months amid her very public family feuds and continuous slew of social media posts. 

Most recently, Britney caused concern when she was accused of suffering a ‘manic meltdown’ in a Los Angeles restaurant which she has since addressed.

The 41-year-old singer was seen ‘talking gibberish’ when fans tried to take photos of her dining with her 28-year-old husband Sam Ashgari at the JOEY restaurant in Woodland Hills on Friday, before he appeared to storm out, TMZ reported.

As one of the world’s most famous pop stars, Britney has lived her life in the spotlight, with the public watching on during the highs and lows in her three-decade career.

Now we take a look back at the troubled singer’s history of heartbreaking family feuds and the demons she was forced to battle behind close doors. 

MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH STRUGGLES

Last year, Britney detailed the ‘serious mental trauma’ she endured from her conservatorship, which she claims has left her unable to breathe normally when ‘looking at people’s faces.’

She went on to reveal she had sustained nerve damage to the right side of her body as a result of not breathing properly.

The Toxic hitmaker said she refuses to see a doctor about her pain due to being ‘terrified’ after her conservatorship – but that the pain goes away when she dances.

The star went on to say that she ‘talks to horses’ because she can ‘no longer stand looking at people’s faces anymore’.

Prior to Britney’s conservatorship ending, Jamie claimed that his daughter’s struggles with ‘addiction and mental health issues’ are far more serious than the public knows.

In a 15-page filing to Los Angeles County Court, he said: ‘If the public knew all the facts of Ms. Spears’ personal life, not only her highs but also her lows, all of the addiction and mental health issues that she has struggled with, and all of the challenges of the Conservatorship, they would praise Mr. Spears for the job he has done, not vilify him.’

In 2019, Britney completed a 30-day stint at a mental health facility, but Britney later claimed that she was forced into going because she objected to a dance move during one of her rehearsals.

She has also claimed she was forced to do ‘840 hours of unwanted therapy’ during her conservatorship.

February 2007 marked a period of troubling behavior, during which she shaved her head, got two new tattoos and hit the L.A. club scene.

Shortly before she checked into a rehab facility, she attacked a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella.

She then endured another setback after a disastrous performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.

In January 2008, she was put under lockdown at a mental institution after she held her son hostage at her home and refused to hand him over to Kevin.

The court then placed her under temporary – and later permanent – conservatorship of her father Jamie and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control over her assets.

FEROCIOUS FAMILY FEUDS 

Britney was born to school teacher mom Lynn and alcoholic building contractor Jamie who raised the future pop princess in the small town of Kentwood, Louisiana. 

Jamie and Lynn Spears spent much of Britney’s childhood fighting, with the singer revealing she often retreated to her aunt’s trailer nearby to drown out the noise. 

Britney used her role as a star to escape her troubled home life in hopes of making a better life for herself, but that soon changed when she split from husband Kevin and was placed under conservatorship by her parents. 

Despite having divorced in 2002, both Lynne and Jamie seemed to be in agreement on having the last say in their daughter’s life. 

But Lynne was soon ostracized when Britney blamed her mother for losing her kids, and Lynne was forced to move back to Louisiana, declining the hundreds of calls from her daughter who suffered in silence. 

After Britney learned Jamie he would finally be abandoning his role as a conservator, she blasted the conservatorship as a ‘family business’ and thanked Jamie for ‘exiting out of my life and finally allowing me to live mine.’ 

She slammed her situation as ‘abusive’, and called for her father and those involved with her conservatorship to be ‘jailed’.

Meanwhile, Britney and her younger sister Jamie Lynn, 31, have developed a highly argumentative relationship throughout the years.

Jamie Lynn broke her silence on the matter in an emotional Instagram video published in June 2021, where she stated that she wanted nothing but ‘happiness’ for her sister and that she always has and ‘always will’ support her.

The Zoey 101 star insisted that she’d made a ‘very conscious choice’ to ‘only participate’ in the singer’s life as her sister – and that she was not on Britney’s payroll as fans had previously accused her of being.

The video appeared to make Britney angry as she launched countless attacks on her sister through Instagram. 

Jamie Lynn publicly begged for ‘peace’ amid her sister releasing the bombshell social media claims, which later resulted in Britney unfollowing her ‘mean a** sister’ on Instagram

In late 2021, Jamie Lynn announced she’d be releasing own memoir, titled Things I Should Have Said.  

And although the Zoey 101 star claimed she wanted peace, she aired out a series of head-turning allegations about her older sister during her publicity run for her memoir. 

Jamie Lynn claimed her older sister once locked them both in a room with knife in hand, and described her behavior at one point as ‘erratic, paranoid and, spiraling.’

Britney categorically denied the knife story and retaliated by calling her sister a ‘scum person’ for telling ‘crazy lies’ about her.

As the bad blood between the two sisters boiled, Britney also expressed regret that she had not ‘slapped you and Mamma right across your f***ing faces!!!!!’

During the week of the book’s release, Britney’s counsel sent Jamie Lynn a cease and desist over the ‘misleading or outrageous claims’ in the memoir.

COMPLICATED LOVE LIFE  

Britney finally tied the knot with her longtime partner Sam Asghari in June 2022 after six years of dating and the couple are keen to have children. 

However, their love followed a string of short-lived romances for the pop superstar. 

One of her most high-profile relationships was with her former Mickey Mouse Club co-star Justin Timberlake, who she split from in 2002 after four years together. 

The break up was acrimonious, with Justin publicly blaming Britney for their split, using his ‘heartbreak’ to promote his music and denying claims the singer had cheated on him. 

Justin later wrote in an open apology that he was ‘deeply sorry’ and would ‘take accountability’ admitting that he had ‘failed’ her, after their relationship came under fresh scrutiny following the release of documentaries looking into Britney’s conservatorship.

After a slew of short-lived romances she then went on to wed Jason Alexander, who had been her friend since childhood. 

The couple tied the knot on a whim in the early morning hours on January 3, 2004 during a ceremony at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. They were both 22 years old at the time.

Their marriage was annulled 55 hours later, which Alexander later claimed was forced by Britney’s mother, Lynne, and Britney’s management.

Following the annulment, Britney said in an interview: ‘It was me being silly, being rebellious.’

Britney’s next relationship also resulted in a marriage.

The songstress and Kevin Federline, a backup dancer, would go on to share her two sons: Sean, 17, and Jayden, 16. 

The couple divorced in 2007 after three years of marriage and it was her struggles with custody that factored into the creation of her conservatorship.

In January 2008, she locked herself in a bathroom with the children when it was time to return them to their father. 

The police were subsequently called, and Britney was put on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

Britney hit the dating scene quickly following her divorce when she got together with the music producer J. R. Rotem, who produced her song Everybody. 

Following their fling, Rotem shocked with a graphic kiss and tell interview, crudely announcing ‘I f**ked Britney wheelbarrow style – It was tractor style.’ 

Reflecting on their union, Rotem later said: ‘It was kind of a stupid phase I was going through, where I wouldn’t say that I was being a bad person but I would say that I was being not very genuine to who I am and what it is that I’m supposed to do.’ 

ESTRANGEMENT FROM HER SONS 

Britney has had a rocky relationship with her estranged sons, Sean Preston, 17, and Jayden, 16, with the Mail on Sunday revealing last August that the pop star hadn’t seen her sons for ‘months.’ 

Their father Kevin said the boys’ desire to avoid the circus surrounding their mother’s private life was so great they didn’t even attend her wedding to American-Iranian model Sam Asghari. 

In response, Britney accused her sons of ‘abandoning her’ and ‘being hateful’ in a now deleted Instagram post, after which Kevin posted videos allegedly showing the singer ‘screaming’ at her sons when they were younger. Also now removed. 

During a special interview on ITV news in September, the pair said that they wanted to fix their relationship with their mother, with Jayden adding, ‘When she gets better I really want to see her again.’ 

Preston and Jayden currently live with their father, Kevin, and his family. He was awarded sole legal and physical custody of the pair in January 2008, a month before Britney’s conservatorship began. 

Preston expressed, ‘We’ve both been through so much pressure in the past that this is our safe place now, to process all the emotional trauma we’ve been through to heal, heal our mental state.’ 

CONTROVERSIAL CONSERVATORSHIP 

For 13 years, Britney had her personal and financial affairs controlled by her father Jamie, who claims he saved her life by acting as her court appointed guardian. 

Britney was not in agreement, accusing her father of abusing the system, and stating the only thing similar to her experience was sex trafficking due to the fact she was made to ‘work against her will’ and had her belongings ‘taken away’ from her. 

In 2008, Jamie filed for conservatorship of Britney, claiming she was not legally well enough to make her own decisions. 

The court then extended the temporary agreement on a yearly basis and was not called into question by many until 2019. 

Eyebrows were raised when in January 2019, Britney cancelled a second planned Vegas residency and, announcing an ‘indefinite work hiatus’, was admitted to a psychiatric facility, claiming she was ‘taking a little me time’. 

Word began to spread that Jamie had made the arrangements against his daughter’s will.

Accusations against Jamie began to trend on social media, purporting to shine a spotlight on the conditions under which Britney’s life was being controlled.

The #FreeBritney campaign claimed that the conservatorship restricted the singer’s ability to use a mobile phone unmonitored, go for a walk or see her children.

It accused Jamie of using sedatives to keep her ‘under control’, and even claimed Britney was using secret symbols to communicate her distress to fans on social media.

The worldwide movement to end her conservatorship was heightened further by the release of the 2021 documentary Framing Britney Spears, which alleged the singer’s phone and bedroom were bugged by security staff working for Jamie.

Months after that documentary, Britney told the story in her own words at a legal hearing. 

She claimed she was afraid of her father, that she was forced to go on tour and into rehab, and to take powerful drugs.

One of her most heart-wrenching revelations came during a tearful phone appearance at Judge Penny’s court last June when she said that she wanted to have a baby with her fiancé, but the conservatorship wouldn’t allow her to remove her IUD birth control.

‘I feel ganged up on and bullied and alone,’ Britney told the court during that emotional statement. ‘I just want my life back.’

She also told the judge that she felt ‘enslaved’ by her dad, whom she, added, ‘should be in jail.’

In November 2021 a Los Angeles judge ordered an end to the conservatorship that had controlled Britney’s life – and $60 million fortune – for 13 years.

The singer tweeted after the decision was announced: ‘Good God I love my fans so much it’s crazy!!!

‘I think I’m gonna cry the rest of the day !!!! Best day ever … praise the Lord … can I get an Amen.’

A ‘MANIC MELTDOWN’ AT DINNER 

Britney was seen ‘talking gibberish’ when fans tried to take photos of her dining with her 28-year-old husband Sam Ashgari at the JOEY restaurant in Woodland Hills on Friday. 

The Piece of Me singer was apparently triggered when restaurant patrons whipped out their cell phones and began snapping unwarranted photos and videos of her. 

Footage obtained by TMZ showed Britney trying to cover her face with a menu to keep prying eyes at bay.

Eyewitnesses alleged the Grammy winner became increasingly upset and began ‘yelling’ and speaking in gibberish, which prompted her spouse to storm out.

She followed up the concerning episode by posting a video of her flipping off the camera in a video set to Divinyls’ I Touch Myself.

Britney later shared a bizarre Instagram post comparing herself to ‘Shrek’ and saying she was ‘a little drunk’.

She penned: ‘I watched ‘NATURAL BORN KILLERS’ this morning and damn I got ENLIGHTENED … and HOLY SMOKES S**T BALLS.

‘I’m sure I brought a billion SMILES to me LOOKING LIKE SHREK at a restaurant. Even my best friend couldn’t WAIT TO SEND IT TO ME, THEY DON’T THINK TWICE because we are all natural born killers.

‘I know the news is all hyped about me being a little drunk at a restaurant … it’s like they’ll be WATCHING MY EVERY MOVE !!!’ 

‘I’m so flattered they talk about me like a maniac THEN have the balls to talk about all the negative things that happened in my past !!!’ she said.

‘Honestly it would be safer for me to compliment this world and f**k up because if I become a prophet and don’t create history, we might have something y’all… I’m just KIDDING, but it’s a good thought,’ Spears added.

‘I know y’all are rooting for me and all and make sure you check out the shocking Shrek picture of me,’ she added.

‘I was like damn that’s horrific yet there were two pics where I was normal … either way honestly I know nobody gives a flying f**k what I do !!! I’m just bored writing this paragraph like a damn idiot,’ Spears concluded.