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Kevin Federline\u2019s memoir, You Thought You Knew, comes out next week and is already getting lots of buzz for its descriptions of his ex-wife, Britney Spears. The pair were married from 2004 to 2007 and share two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James. In the book, Federline reportedly shares his concern for the singer\u2019s well-being and claims that their sons were afraid to stay at her house as teenagers. But Spears has taken issue with his claims, defending her complicated relationship with her sons and accusing her ex-husband of profiting off her after she stopped paying child support.<\/p>\n
According to the New York Times<\/a>, Federline writes that his sons became scared of staying with Spears at some point while they were teenagers. (It\u2019s unclear exactly when this happened.) \u201cThey would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep \u2014 \u2018Oh, you\u2019re awake?\u2019 \u2014 with a knife in her hand,\u201d Federline writes, per the Times. \u201cThen she\u2019d turn around and pad off without explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the book, Federline claims that Spears\u2019s behavior<\/a> since 2021, when she was released from her conservatorship, has caused concern. \u201cIt\u2019s become impossible to pretend everything\u2019s OK,\u201d he writes. \u201cFrom where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we\u2019re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don\u2019t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n Responding to the excerpt, a representative for Spears suggested Federline\u2019s decision to share these revelations was connected to the fact that Spears recently stopped paying child support. \u201cWith news from Kevin\u2019s book breaking, once again he and others are profiting off her and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin,\u201d a spokesman for Spears told the Times. \u201cAll she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James, and their well-being during this sensationalism. She detailed her journey in her memoir.\u201d<\/p>\n Spears followed that up with a lengthy statement on X<\/a> on Wednesday, where she wrote that \u201cthe constant gaslighting from ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting. I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys.\u201d She added that \u201crelationships with teenage boys [are] complex,\u201d and said she has \u201cfelt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.\u201d \u201cSadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by [their] own father for me. They need to take responsibility for themselves. With one son only seeing me for 45 min in the past 5 years and the other with only 4 visits in the past 5 years,\u201d she continued. \u201cI have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available.\u201d Spears said she has been \u201ctrying to live a sacred and private life the past 5 years\u201d and said she is only speaking about this \u201cbecause I have had enough and any real woman would do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n On Thursday, Spears shared another post on X<\/a> that seemed to address Federline\u2019s memoir, among other things. \u201cHe is literally attacking me in his interviews,\u201d Spears wrote, presumably about Federline, although she didn\u2019t mention him by name. \u201cI know his book will sell loads more than mine,\u201d she added. \u201cIf you really love someone then you don\u2019t help them by humiliating them.\u201d<\/p>\n TMZ<\/a> reported that Spears stopped paying child support last November, after Jayden James turned 18. Her relationship with\u00a0her sons has reportedly been strained for years \u2014 Federline was granted full custody back in 2008 after a messy legal battle. In 2022, Federline said<\/a> that the boys had \u201cdecided they are not seeing her right now\u201d and that they hadn\u2019t attended her wedding to Sam Asghari. Last year, TMZ<\/a> reported that Jayden had begun to see Spears again following years of estrangement. But Federline\u2019s attorney said the former dancer had not heard anything about a reconciliation.<\/p>\n On the one hand, Federline\u2019s relationship with Spears will certainly motivate readers to check out the book. On the other, it\u2019s hard to tell what\u2019s going on beyond Spears\u2019s Instagram videos.\u00a0For everyone\u2019s sake, this seems like a situation to be mediated by a professional rather than hashed out in a highly publicized memoir.<\/p>\n This post has been updated.<\/p>\n Stay in touch.<\/p>\n Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n