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Britney Spears’ ex-husband has written a memoir, “You Thought You Knew,” in which he alleges the pop star once used cocaine before attempting to breastfeed their children.
In his memoir, the 47-year-old reflects on their whirlwind romance, the breakdown of their three-year marriage and the custody battle for their sons Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19.
A representative for Spears criticized the timing and content of the memoir, and Spears has also called Federline’s public claims “constant gaslighting” in a recent post on X.
BRITNEY SPEARS UNLEASHES ON KEVIN FEDERLINE FOR ‘ATTACKING’ HER IN TELL-ALL MEMOIR
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are seen here attending the 2004 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The couple married earlier that year. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images)
“I immediately realized in those moments that she was done listening to me, done listening to reason, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I went to my lawyer,” Federline told Fox News Digital. He recalled how Spears arrived at his album release party in October 2006 and allegedly began using cocaine.
He wrote that Spears, now 43, was supposed to stay home with the boys, including a 6-week-old Jayden.
“That was the beginning of the end,” he added.
According to the book, Spears was accompanied by an unnamed actress friend.
“They were sitting around the coffee table in my dressing room,” Federline wrote. “The first thing I saw was Britney and her young starlet friend snorting a fat line of coke off the table. … It was surreal. They didn’t even try to hide it.”
Kevin Federline’s memoir, “You Thought You Knew,” is available now. (Listenin Inc.)
Federline wrote that he was “stunned.” While he wasn’t judgmental about the drug use, he was concerned because both Preston and Jayden were nursing at the time.
“I’m trying to play it cool, but in my head, it’s just this loop: We don’t give the kids formula; you breastfeed them. Are you seriously going to go home after this and feed them like you don’t have a body full of drugs?”
“… I wasn’t upset that she was there; if she wanted to support me, I’d have been good with that. We could have prepared. She could have pumped milk for Jayden so her mom had that ready. But the way she was that night had nothing to do with us; it was something else entirely.”
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Britney Spears and Kevin Federline welcomed Sean Preston Federline on Sept. 14, 2005. Their second son, Jayden James Federline, was born Sept. 12, 2006. (Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images)
Federline claimed he begged Spears not to go home and nurse the boys. He wrote that she threw her drink straight into his face and stormed off.
Fox News Digital reached out to Spears’ rep for comment concerning Federline’s claims. A spokesperson for the “Piece of Me” singer spoke out to People magazine against Federline’s decision to write his book ahead of its release.
“With news from Kevin’s book breaking, once again he and others are profiting off her, and sadly it comes after child support has ended with Kevin,” the statement read. “All 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.”
In a post on X responding to Kevin Federline’s memoir, Britney Spears wrote that the “constant gaslighting” from her ex-husband was “extremely hurtful and exhausting.” (Steve Jennings/WireImage/Getty Images)
The outlet also noted that in her 2023 memoir, “The Woman in Me,” Spears wrote that she “never” had a drinking problem, and the only drug she ever took was Adderall.
“I have never had any interest in hard drugs,” she wrote.
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Copies of Britney Spears’ memoir are seen at a bookshop in Madrid. “The Woman in Me” was published on Oct. 24, 2023. (Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
Federline claimed to Fox News Digital that he also confronted his then-spouse about casually drinking while pregnant and on medication. He described it as “the first silent alarm” in his book.
“There were definitely conversations about it,” he told Fox News Digital. “It seemed like it was taken into account what we were talking about, but it was also brushed off a few times. It was one of those things where it made me really uneasy. It was a very uneasy feeling.”
Kevin Federline insisted to Fox News Digital that his memoir is not a “cash grab.” (PMichael Caulfield/WireImage for Sony BMG Music Entertainment)
In November 2024, Page Six confirmed that Spears’ child-support payments concluded as their younger son neared adulthood.
WATCH: CHRIS KIRKPATRICK OFFERS HIS SUPPORT TO BRITNEY SPEARS
According to the outlet, Spears had been making biweekly payments of $10,000 to Federline. At one point, he was receiving $40,000 a month from Spears because their two sons lived with him full-time in Hawaii, the outlet shared. However, they settled on $20,000 after Sean Preston turned 18. Jayden James’ 18th birthday was in September 2024.
Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told People magazine in September 2024 that under California law, a parent must continue paying child support until their child graduated high school.
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are seen on April 23, 2004, in Los Angeles. (Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)
“Under California law, child support jurisdiction continues until the minor child reaches the age of 18, or if, upon their 18th birthday, they have not yet graduated from high school. It continues until they graduate high school, but in no event later than their 19th birthday,” he told the outlet. “The child support in this case for Jayden is being paid consistent with that law. His graduation [from] high school will be in November.”
Britney Spears leaves the Los Angeles County Superior courthouse after a child custody status hearing on May 6, 2008. At the time, Spears was locked in a custody feud with her former husband Kevin Federline. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
Spears and Federline divorced in 2007. Following their split, Federline pursued reality TV, including “Celebrity Fit Club” in 2010.
Despite the glaring optics, Federline insisted that his book is not a “cash grab.”
“I keep saying this, right, if this was about money, then it would’ve been done a long time ago, at the height of it, when I was being offered seven-figure deals to sit down with high media figures and tell my story,” he explained to Fox News Digital.
Kevin Federline now resides in Hawaii. (Sam Ruttyn/Newspix via Getty Images)
“There are so many times throughout all of this that I’ve had a chance to make money off of this, and I said no, for the sake of my family and for Britney, right? … I’ve really tried to allow so much time for this situation to get better.”
BRITNEY SPEARS’ EX KEVIN FEDERLINE CLAIMS SHE STOOD IN SONS’ DOORWAY WITH KNIFE WHILE THEY SLEPT
“I just felt that it was time,” he said. “I’ve sat back and watched so many others tell my story and try to tell people who I was and who I am. And now that my sons are older, that is such a big part of it, right?
Kevin Federline married Victoria Prince in 2013. They share two daughters. (David Hardenberg/Getty Images)
“I wanted to make sure that my children, who this affected the most, were old enough to understand what it is and why I am doing what I’m doing. And I feel like everybody has the right to tell their truths. Everybody has the right to come forward and explain their situation. Now, to me, is the perfect time.”
Spears and Federline met in April 2004 and married later that year. In the book, he admitted that he lied to ex-fiancée Shar Jackson, telling her that he had booked a commercial overseas when he was really joining Spears in Europe for her “Onyx Hotel Tour.”
Kevin Federline was still with Shar Jackson when he became romantically involved with Britney Spears. (James Devaney/WireImage/Getty Images)
“Right from the beginning, my introduction to the world was not so great because of what I did,” he explained. “I left my pregnant girlfriend for Britney — that kind of set the tone for becoming infamous. … I feel like I was completely misunderstood and not the person that I’ve been painted to be. I’m a true, genuine person. I love the people that I’m with, and I’m a very caring person. That’s who I truly am.”
Kevin Federline and Shar Jackson were together for about three years, from around 2001 to 2004. (M. Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
“And just look at Shar,” he continued. “If someone had something that they could have really just gone with and destroyed me, it would’ve been Shar. And she hasn’t done that because she knows who I am. She tells people how great of a father I am. She talks about me as the person that I am, not what people see or have been told.”
In the book, Federline said he regretted cheating on the “Moesha” alum with whom he shares two children — Kori, 23, and Kaleb, 21.
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During the couple’s court battle, a judge ordered Britney Spears to hand over custody of her sons to her ex-husband Kevin Federline. (ZUMA Press, Inc., ALAMY)
“If I could go back in time, I’d handle that whole thing differently,” he wrote. “But life doesn’t work like that. We f— up and we learn.”
Federline remarried in 2013 to Victoria Prince. They share two daughters — Jordan, 14, and Peyton, 11. The now father of six said that over the years, he’s prioritized giving Sean Preston and Jayden James a normal upbringing.
In 2008, Spears was placed under a conservatorship due to concerns about her mental health following a period of highly publicized struggles. In 2021, a Los Angeles judge ended the conservatorship, granting her the freedom to make her own medical, financial and personal decisions.
Britney Spears arrives for the premiere of Sony Pictures’ “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on July 22, 2019. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Federline said that his sons are aware of the book. When asked about their relationship with Spears, Federline said, “It’s a fluid situation.”
“They want her to be healthy and happy, and they want that connection,” he said. “I know that they’re almost willing to do anything to get it.”
In this handout photo provided by the LA Dodgers, Britney Spears poses with sons Jayden James Federline (left) and Sean Preston Federline (right) during a game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on April 17, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers via Getty Images)
“… Really the best thing for [my sons], I think from a parent’s standpoint, is just being honest with them and making sure that when I’m having the conversations that I needed to have with them, that I did it in the most sensitive way and make sure that I wasn’t bashing their mother,” he said. “They knew, and they know now that all of this is out of love.”
On Oct. 15, Spears wrote a lengthy post on X, saying she “had enough” of Federline “constantly gaslighting” her.
“I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys,” she wrote. “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.”
Britney Spears regained her freedom from a 13-year conservatorship in November 2021. (Todd Williamson/Getty Images)
Spears shared that her sons “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.”
