{"id":828111,"date":"2026-03-15T20:20:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T20:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/828111\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T20:20:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T20:20:27","slug":"troubled-britney-spears-cried-as-she-told-friend-i-just-want-to-be-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/828111\/","title":{"rendered":"Troubled Britney Spears cried as she told friend ‘I just want to be normal’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britney Spears’ former make-up artist Julianne Kaye who followed the pop star across the world, admits emotionally that she hopes she ‘gets the help she needs’<\/p>\n

17:00, 15 Mar 2026Updated 19:25, 15 Mar 2026<\/p>\n

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Britney Spears <\/a>once told those closest to her that the life fame had thrust upon her was never the one she wanted. The release of Baby One More Time had turned the teenager from small-town Louisiana into one of the most famous women on the planet<\/a> almost overnight.<\/p>\n

Nearly three decades later, Britney is still struggling in the limelight after being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence<\/a> in California. Now one of the women who knew her best during those early years, and even lived with her, has opened up about her fresh fears for the star.<\/p>\n

Make-up artist and stylist Julianne Kaye was just in her twenties when she landed the job of a lifetime accompanying Britney on tours from Europe to Asia. Even back then, it was patently clear that life in the spotlight was a constant struggle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Julieanne hasn’t spoken to the star in ‘years’ but once followed her on tour across the globe(Image: NBC)<\/p>\n

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The make-up artist remembers how ‘brutal’ paparazzi were at the start of Britney’s career(Image: NBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I met her everything was exciting, but as it got more serious and demanding, the management would always make her work more than she wanted to. It started getting her pretty depressed. She\u2019d be crying a lot, saying, \u2018I want to be normal.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

At first, Julianne remembers Britney as a bright, warm and bubbly young woman who was thrilled by the opportunities opening up around her. \u201cShe was fun\u2026so much energy, sweet, and super down-to-earth,\u201d she says. \u201cShe was really excited about everything in life. Obviously, as time went on, things got a little more jaded and exhausting, but when I first met her, it was all new and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

But soon the scale of the singer\u2019s rise quickly became overwhelming, leaving Britney in dangerous situations and unable to cope. \u201cIt went from being able to walk around a mall where people didn\u2019t really know who she was, to not being able to leave the hotel room. We\u2019d be in a van and fans would be rocking it; it felt very crazy. It happened like a juggernaut, really overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside the adoration of fans came relentless media attention. \u201cThe paparazzi were really brutal back then,\u201d Julianne says. \u201cI went to The Ivy recently and didn\u2019t see a single one, but back then it was a sea of them. They\u2019d be climbing over your fence trying to get a picture. It was relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the madness surrounding her every move, Julianne remembers the young star as always on the look-out for her. \u201cShe was always so thoughtful,\u201d she says. \u201cI remember one time she went on a shopping spree and bought me a whole cart of stuff, sweaters and things, just because she thought of me. She had that Southern quality of taking care of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hayes says the singer always had that ‘Southern quality of taking care of people'(Image: NBC)<\/p>\n

More than two decades later, Julianne says it is painful watching events unfold from afar.<\/p>\n

Last week Britney was handcuffed by the California Highway Patrol and held by police for over nine hours<\/a> after being pulled over. A police dispatch call said officers pulled her over after spotting a BMW \u201cbraking and swerving in and out of lanes\u201d erratically at \u201chigh speed\u201d.<\/p>\n

The singer\u2019s manager Cade Hudson<\/a> later said he hoped the arrest marks the \u201dlong overdue change that needs to occur in Britney\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing and sad,\u201d Julianne says. \u201cI feel like nobody should be getting a DUI when you have Uber and car services. But the arrest also surprised me as I didn\u2019t think she ever left the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the two women have not spoken in years, Julianne admits she still feels a strong connection to the person she once worked alongside.<\/p>\n

She famously styled her and boyfriend Justin Timberlake<\/a> in their now infamous matching double-denim outfits<\/a> at the American Music Awards in 2001. And she was by her side too after their subsequent split which left her heartbroken after Justin sang about it in his song Cry Me A River.<\/p>\n

Like many people, she has been increasingly concerned by some of Britney\u2019s erratic Instagram<\/a> posts. \u201cListen, I haven\u2019t talked to her in so many years, so I can\u2019t say exactly what is going on,\u201d she says. \u201cBut if you look at her Instagram in general, she does seem off the rails. It\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was also deeply uncomfortable watching the conservatorship that controlled Britney\u2019s life<\/a> for more than a decade. From a marriage ban, to not being allowed her own credit cards, Britney\u2019s life was mapped out for her by others.<\/p>\n

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She would reconnect with Britney in a heartbeat, she says(Image: NBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all felt very wrong,\u201d Julianne says. \u201cYou don\u2019t put somebody in a conservatorship and then make them do Vegas shows. It should be about getting help, not making money for \u2018the machine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that the legal arrangement has ended, she worries about who is around the singer. \u201cNow that she\u2019s left to her own devices, you wonder if that was the way to go,\u201d she says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem like she has any friends or a good group of people having her back. It\u2019s strange that she\u2019s never out at a restaurant like normal people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the distance between them now, Julianne says she would reconnect with Britney in a heartbeat if she had the chance. \u201cI\u2019m the kind of person who could pick up with any friend after 20 years,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I\u2019m afraid we are miles apart mentally based on what I see. If I could reach out and take her to lunch, I would. But I\u2019m sure she has been ostracized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back, she insists there were no signs of mental illness that would blight her later life. \u201cNot at all,\u201d she says. \u201cI mean, she believed in fairies, but that was about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently she has been revisiting old photographs from their years together, which has seen her past emotions resurface. \u201cI\u2019ve been organizing and pulling out old pictures,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a big part of my life. I grew up with Britney in my 20s. It\u2019s sad that none of our old camp is in touch with her anymore. How do you even get in touch with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

Julianne also believes medication Britney was given<\/a> during the conservatorship may have had lasting consequences. \u201cI think the lithium they gave her during the conservatorship might have done permanent damage,\u201d she says. \u201cHer behaviour isn\u2019t that of a typical person and I just hope that she gets the help she needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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