Britney Spears has responded to claims made by her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, regarding her parenting in his new memoir, *You Thought You Knew.*
Ahead of the book’s October 21 release, *The New York Times* published an excerpt in which Federline alleges that their children woke up to Spears watching them sleep “with a knife in her hand.” In the penultimate chapter, he writes about her condition, saying, “The clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.”
Now, Spears has shared her side of the story. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the Grammy winner expressed her feelings about Federline’s statements:
> “The constant gaslighting from [my] ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting. I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys. Relationships with teenage boys is complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.”
She went on to highlight the lack of respect she feels their sons have witnessed from their father:
> “Sadly, 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, I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available.”
Addressing Federline’s book directly, Spears added:
> “Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here. I will always love them and if you really know me, you won’t pay attention to the tabloids of my mental health and drinking. I am actually a pretty intelligent woman who has been trying to live a sacred and private life the past 5 years. I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same.”
Kevin Federline and Britney Spears were married in 2004. Spears filed for divorce in 2006. Together, they share two sons, aged 19 and 20.
https://variety.com/2025/music/news/britney-spears-responds-kevin-federline-memoir-1236554285/