Five years ago this week, Britney Spears was released from her controversial conservatorship, a legal arrangement that had placed her father Jamie in control of her finances, medical care, and personal relationships for 13 years. The pop icon's plight inspired the fan-led 'Free Britney' campaign and raised questions about the US legal system. Since regaining control of her life, Spears has experienced both personal triumphs and significant challenges.
A Hard-Won Freedom
For Britney Spears fans worldwide, November 12, 2021 was a day for celebration. After 13 years spent making millions for others, she was finally put back in charge of her own life. The singer had battled with her mental health since 2007, when she caused a sensation by shaving her own head with clippers at a Los Angeles salon.
The details of her care had only recently started to emerge. She had been placed under a conservatorship – a legal arrangement designed to protect people so ill or disabled that they can't understand or communicate decisions. It put her dad Jamie Spears in charge of almost everything she did, from her tour schedules to her contraceptive choices. The pop star, now 44, was not at all happy about it.
Speaking Out
"I'd been eyeballed so much growing up," she wrote in her 2023 memoir The Woman In Me. "I'd been looked up and down, had people telling me what they thought of my body, since I was a teenager. Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of pushing back. But under the conservatorship I was made to understand that those days were now over. I had to grow my hair out and get back into shape. I had to go to bed early and take whatever medication they told me to take."
She accused Jamie, 74, of infantilising and belittling her, calling her "fat" and using the conservatorship to milk her £100million fortune. He insisted he only had her best interests at heart. "I love my daughter with all my heart and soul," he said in 2023. "They've heard the allegations from Britney. I don't mind taking that beating because I know it's not true, and because I don't want to start something else."
New Beginnings and Setbacks
Fresh from signing a record £11million book deal, Spears announced she was pregnant in April 2022 – something she claimed Jamie had made impossible by forcing her to stay on the contraceptive coil. Sadly, she suffered a miscarriage soon afterwards. She married long-term boyfriend Sam Asghari, 32, that June, without inviting her parents, brother Bryan, 49, or sister Jamie Lynn, 35. Her sons with ex Kevin Federline – Sean, 20, and Jayden, 19 – also chose not to attend.
The wedding took a dramatic turn when Jason Alexander, Britney's husband for 55 hours in 2004, broke into her Los Angeles home armed with a knife. He was convicted of aggravated trespass and battery and slapped with a restraining order. That August, Britney landed a top 10 hit with single Hold Me Closer, a duet with Elton John. Trouble was already brewing behind the scenes.
Public Scrutiny and Personal Struggles
By January 2023, fans were getting worried about Britney's bizarre posts on Instagram. She claimed to have "married herself" and changed her name to "River Red," then suddenly deleted her account. Footage emerged of her "acting strangely" in a Los Angeles restaurant, prompting her to ask fans to respect her privacy. Later that month, police were called to her home for a welfare check.
Britney hit back at public scrutiny that July in the form of a single, with will.i.am, called Mind Your Business. Soon afterwards, the singer revealed she had split with Asghari after just 14 months of marriage. In January 2024, she was rumoured to be working on new material with Charli XCX – but responded by announcing her retirement from the music industry. Charli later confirmed she had written songs for Britney, but they were never recorded. That December, she sold the rights to her back catalogue to music publisher Primary Wave for a cool £150million.
Recent Legal Troubles and Family Bonds
In March this year, Britney was arrested in California on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. She checked into rehab soon afterwards, before pleading guilty to the lesser charge of reckless driving. Handed a year of probation, the star was ordered to see a psychologist twice a week and a psychiatrist twice a month. She is said to have leaned on her sons for support – and their relationship is now closer than ever.
Jayden revealed she was "so nervous" when both lads made their debuts as models at Paris Fashion Week in June. He said: "She was just looking out for us and making sure that this was what we wanted to do." But there seems little hope of her ever reconciling with Jamie, who had his right leg amputated after an infection in December 2023. In a since-deleted Instagram post in September, she recalled being unable to "travel spontaneously" while under his conservatorship. "I wonder why god took my father's legs away?" she added.
