10 Dark Facts About Britney Spears' Life

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at the darkest facts about the troubled life of Britney Spears.

Her Father Struggled With Alcohol Use Disorder

Britney’s father, Jamie, struggled with heavy alcohol use from the time his eldest child Bryan was born in 1977. In both Britney and sister Jamie Lynn’s respective memoirs, the siblings detail the fear and uncertainty they felt when their father was drinking. In 2004, Jamie went to rehab to treat his disorder, and in 2008 he became Britney’s personal conservator in a controversial move prompted by a decline in Britney’s mental health. As Britney began to fight against this conservatorship in later decades, she admitted she suspected her father was using alcohol again, though Jamie’s lawyer denied this.

She Went Through a Public Miscarriage

Britney Spears currently has two children, but she’s been vocal about her desire to have a third. This was one of her primary points of contention in her conservatorship, which required she have an IUD to prevent a pregnancy. Just a few months after announcing her engagement to her long-term boyfriend Sam Asghari, Spears excitedly announced that she was expecting. Her eagerness was understandable, but unfortunately this reveal was ill-timed. Spears tragically miscarried, and to make matters worse she now had to publicly announce the loss of her child. Spears’ announcement was met with an outpouring of support from fans, but it must have been incredibly difficult to deal with such a tragic loss so publicly.

She was "Very Drunk" When She Married Jason Alexander

In 2004, Spears famously married her childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas, only for the marriage to be annulled just 55 hours later. The annulment was petitioned for by Spears’ family, who claimed she didn’t understand her actions at the time. Spears made headlines for the frivolous wedding, with critics claiming it demonstrated her immaturity and poor decision making skills. In Spears’ memoir, she revealed the whole thing was a consequence of one too many drinks on a wild Vegas night out. Unlike most ordinary twenty-somethings, Spears’ drunken escapades were considered fair game for public scrutiny and condemnation. Decades later, Alexander crashed Spears’ wedding to Sam Asghari, resulting in Spears winning a restraining order against Alexander.

Her Ex-Husband Kevin Federline Was Obsessed with Fame

Britney’s second marriage was with dancer Kevin Federline and lasted from 2004 to 2007. During that time, Spears and Federline had two children together, fulfilling Spears’ lifelong dream of motherhood, but their relationship was tumultuous. In her memoir “The Woman in Me,” Spears revealed that Federline was obsessed with fame and wanted to be famous at any cost. His desire for recognition calls into question the legitimacy of their relationship at all, considering Spears is one of the most famous celebrities of all time, and anyone in a relationship with her is bound to make headlines. Speculation aside, Spears wrote about the difficulty of watching her husband’s desire for fame and fortune consume him entirely, leading to the downfall of their marriage.

Her Fitness as a Mother Was Questioned

Once her two sons were born, caring for them and keeping them in her life was one of Spears’ absolute top priorities. Unfortunately, her massive celebrity made motherhood far more complicated, especially with the predatory paparazzi of the early 2000s. In 2006, photos of Spears driving with her infant son on her lap caused intense public backlash. Spears admitted she made a mistake in doing so, but claimed she felt unsafe when paparazzi surrounded her, and wanted to quickly remove herself and her son from the situation. The photos caused many to question whether she was fit to be a mother, even though the photographers themselves were the reason Spears felt panicked in the first place.

She Was Sexualized From a Young Age

Spears was introduced to life in the spotlight from an early age due to her role in “The Mickey Mouse Club,” but her public image wouldn’t maintain its youthful innocence for very long. Spears’ image started becoming more sexualized from the young age of 16, notably with her “...Baby One More Time” music video. The video is set in a high school, with the teenage pop star wearing a school uniform modified to include a short skirt and midriff-baring top. The song and video were both massively successful, but looking back it’s clear Spears was way too young to be sexualized in that way, and we can’t help but question how the adults around her were okay with this.

Her "Comeback" Was Ridiculed

There was a lot of pressure placed on Spears before her 2007 VMA performance, which was supposed to be her “comeback” after a year of heavily publicized personal challenges. In her memoir, Spears writes that she didn’t feel ready to perform, but her team wanted her to do so to counter the negative media attention she was receiving. Unfortunately, Spears’ instincts were right. The performance was a low-energy, messy embarrassment for Spears, and the media didn’t cut her any slack for it. Tabloids and talk shows relentlessly ridiculed Spears’ performance and cruelly attacked her appearance. The media showed no mercy for the new mother of two dealing with a heavily publicized mental health crisis during what was supposed to be her triumphant comeback.

She Terminated an Unplanned Pregnancy

One of the biggest bombshells dropped in Spears’ 2023 memoir “The Woman In Me” was the story of her unplanned pregnancy with then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. Spears was surprised by the pregnancy but not opposed to having a child; it was Timberlake who wasn’t yet ready for fatherhood. Spears terminated the pregnancy at Timberlake’s suggestion, but wrote about what a difficult and heartbreaking decision it was to do so. It’s impossible to say how going through with the pregnancy could have changed the trajectory of Spears’ life and career, but it’s heartbreaking she went through with a decision she didn’t agree with.

A Painfully Public Custody Contributed to Her "Breakdown"

Britney Spears’ highly publicized 2007 mental health crisis felt like watching pop culture history in the making, but the public’s perspective of the incident has changed greatly in recent years. Spears made headlines when she shaved her head and attacked a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella, and the harsh media culture of the early 2000s was quick to ridicule Britney’s lowest moments without considering the context. At this time Spears was juggling superstardom with intense personal struggles, including the death of her beloved aunt, postpartum depression, and a painful custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline. Looking back, it’s clear Spears was cracking under an unbearable amount of pressure, and her breakdown was a cry for help the media never should have ridiculed.

The Dark Reality of Her Conservatorship

Following her 2007 mental health crisis, Spears was placed under a controversial financial and personal conservatorship which granted her father near total control over Spears’ entire life. Initially supposed to be a temporary arrangement, the conservatorship was extended indefinitely, and continued for many years before Spears began speaking out against her father. Britney alleged she was afraid of her father, forced to perform against her will, and wanted out. The #FreeBritney movement became massively popular online, advocating for Spears to be freed from her conservatorship and allowed to live a normal adult life. In 2021 the conservatorship was terminated, and after fourteen years Spears was once again in control of her life and career.


Is Britney’s music career truly over, or do you think the star’s latest comeback is coming soon? Let us know in the comments!