Britney Spears' Tragic Real-Life Story

The following article includes references to mental health struggles, addiction, suicide, and abuse allegations.

It turns out there may have been more truth to Britney Spears' hit "Lucky" than the world initially knew. The singer has lived her entire adult life in the spotlight, for better or for worse — and unfortunately for Spears, it was usually worse. Fans had a hard time understanding how the pop princess fell from the top of the charts to the depths of her so-called downfall in 2007 — until the tabloids started reporting that she was struggling with her mental health. 

In 2008, the year her infamous conservatorship began, a People magazine editor claimed to the "Today" show that she dealt with both bipolar disorder and postpartum depression. Meanwhile, sources cited by the Mirror alleged that Spears was previously prescribed Prozac, but that she didn't take it regularly, which allegedly impacted her behavior. One insider close to the singer appeared to affirm her struggle with anxiety, saying she'd wake up during the night in fear and often struggled to sleep well during her European tour in 2000.

Spears seemingly confirmed her bipolar diagnosis in her 2013 "I Am Britney Jean" documentary and has long spoken out about her struggles with anxiety. But those conditions did not live in a vacuum. Spears' family history, personal life, and extreme professional pressures all played a role in what turned out to be devastating and very public struggles for the pop music icon. This is Britney Spears' tragic real-life story.

Britney Spears was nominated for the best new artist Grammy in 2000. She lost, which hurt her, largely in part because she so badly wanted to please her parents. "My mom wanted me to win so bad. And my dad," she told Rolling Stone. "I felt kind of sad that I let them down. And then I talked to them, and they were worried for me. My mom said, 'Baby, I could care less if you win or not. I love you.'"

The pop star also admitted that she often felt lonely and torn between her Kentwood, Louisiana upbringing and her Hollywood lifestyle. Spears admitted she appreciated being reminded that she was so young at the time, explaining, "It makes me feel good when people realize I'm just a kid, because people expect so much out of me right now."

Spears' discomfort with fame hasn't exactly faded with time. She said in her "I Am Britney Jean" documentary in 2013 (via The Hollywood Reporter) that she believes she thrives under pressure, but that she felt "alienated from the public" when she was constantly hounded by paparazzi. She also revealed, "I'm a shy person and I'm particularly not really made for this industry because I am so shy. It's not something I deal with so well."

In her 2000 Rolling Stone profile, it was revealed that Britney Spears had room for only an hour of quiet time for herself each day. Part of her public struggles in 2007, a friend of the singer told the outlet the following year, stemmed from never having downtime to learn who she was. "For years, everyone manipulated Britney. ... If she didn't want to come out of the trailer, the label would come to me, saying, 'Please talk to Britney, make sure she performs, and we'll take you on a shopping spree.' Now this is her time to play," the pal alleged. Another anonymous friend claimed that even when there were discussions about giving Spears a break, "the machine always won."

Her team was reportedly so controlling that they even picked out her underwear and lip gloss in an effort to maintain her sexualized yet virginal image, her pal alleged. In 2002, Spears told Rolling Stone that she wanted freedom to go to Starbucks and pump her own gas without assistants or bodyguards around, adding, "I'm supposed to take six months off, but I probably won't. The whole point of me taking a break is to be out of the public eye and not see my face on TV, because I'm sick of myself." Two years earlier, she told the outlet, "My anxiety has just been crazy. ... Maybe I'm just changing and getting older, but I find I need to have my downtime, just to myself, or I'll go crazy."

One of the most surprising and painful experiences that Britney Spears kept private until she unveiled it in her memoir "The Woman in Me," published in October 2023, was a first-person account of having an abortion. It happened when she was in a relationship with Justin Timberlake, before they split in 2002. While Spears revealed that she was overjoyed about being pregnant, Timberlake was allegedly far more reticent, a circumstance that led her to abort the baby. "If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. And yet Justin was so sure that he didn't want to be a father," she wrote in her book, per People. "To this day, it's one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life." 

The emotional anguish of making such a decision against her personal wishes while keeping it under wraps for years must have been devastating; meanwhile, Timberlake didn't appear to display any signs of pain — at least not publicly. Such apparent juxtaposed reactions come to no surprise to many social scientists, however. "Men are rarely acknowledged as beneficiaries from abortion access so it is much easier for them to avoid the stigma and shame around abortion if they don't think it's something that impacts them personally," said Bethany Everett, an associate sociology professor working at the University of Utah, to USA Today. 

Perhaps as proof of that, Timberlake has not publicly commented on that part of the book, as of this writing.

In February 2007, Britney Spears shaved her head, an act experts cited by ABC News believed was her rebelling against public pressure and restrictions she'd had since becoming a star. During this tumultuous period, Spears checked into a Malibu rehab center, left after less than 24 hours, then checked in again, staying for a month. Upon her exit, she blamed a manager trying to control her post-divorce for her behavior.

In the following months, Spears embarked on a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib, as well as an allegedly dangerous streak of behavior that included a hit-and-run of a parked car and driving without a valid California driver's license. By September, she attempted a disastrous comeback at the MTV Video Music Awards (above); a month later, she lost custody of her sons to Federline.

In January 2008, Spears engaged in what CBS News described as "a nearly three-hour custody standoff involving her young sons," while allegedly "under the influence of an unknown substance." She was removed from her home and hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold, then released. Weeks later, she was committed again. A source close to Spears told E! News that the singer's failed marriage triggered her, claiming, "She had worked so hard and yet she had nothing to show for it. No husband, no access to her kids, a fractured relationship with her family and what she felt was no say in her life. She felt worthless."

During Britney Spears' marriage to Kevin Federline, however brief it was, she dedicated most of her time to caring for their sons and didn't work much — and it seems like she wouldn't mind going back to that lifestyle. The singer admitted to NME in 2016 that she'd considered quitting the music industry to be a teacher, and she told People a big incentive to her Las Vegas residencies was the time it offered her to be with her sons.

Even ex David Lucado admitted that Spears couldn't care less about her entertainment career compared to being a mom. "If anyone knew the real Britney, they would know that she would rather be remembered for being the great mother she is rather than the artist she is," Lucado told The New York Times. "And if anyone could see her interactions with her kids, they would know that there is no need for a conservatorship over Britney's personal life."

Because Britney Spears had seemingly relied so heavily on her father and then-conservator, when Jamie Spears fell ill in late 2018, she appeared to take it hard. Britney hit the brakes on her "Domination" Las Vegas residency. Jamie reportedly suffered a ruptured colon and was hospitalized for nearly a month, and People reported that he underwent a second surgery for the condition in March 2019, but that he hadn't been doing well.

That April, it was reported that Britney checked into a mental health and wellness treatment center. A source told Us Weekly, "Britney was distraught when her dad first got sick. Then there was a period where she was handling it better and feeling more positive because Jamie seemed to be improving, but then his condition worsened and she couldn't emotionally handle the thought of potentially losing him. It was her breaking point." Insiders clarified to E! News that Britney wasn't being treated for any sort of substance use issues at this time and simply needed rest and to focus on herself — and that her sons could visit her at the facility.

Jamie's health issues would continue amid his and Britney's post-conservatorship estrangement. At the time of this writing, he was most recently hospitalized in the fall of 2023 due to a bacterial infection, per ET.

When a psychiatric evaluation of Britney Spears warranted a conservatorship in 2008, the pop star was understandably reticent about handing over everything she owned to someone else. At the time, it seemed that her father, Jamie Spears, was up to the task. While the singer was far more active on the pop circuit at the time, the optics seemed to indicate that he wouldn't take advantage of his daughter while managing her business affairs. "Jamie was around all the time, he's really sweet and he never overly interfered at all. They are super close," claimed a source who previously worked for Britney to Page Six in 2019. "It was very difficult for her to trust people — and she has always relied on her dad to help her do 'normal' things."

However, that supposed trust was put to the test in 2020, when Britney got wind that Jamie reportedly replaced her business manager without letting her know. Before the hearings concerning the conservatorship, allegations surfaced that Jamie authorized electronic surveillance of Britney's living space and tracking her cell phone, in addition to misappropriating up to $6.3 million of her estate. During testimony to end her conservatorship in 2021, Britney accused her father of abuse and declared she wanted to press charges against him.

That contempt hasn't gone away, as of this writing. "I think back now on my father and his associates having control over my body and my money for that long and it makes me feel sick," Britney wrote in "The Woman in Me," per People.

One bright light that seemed promising during Britney Spears' lengthy struggle with her conservatorship was her friendship with Sam Asghari, her personal trainer whom she met during a video shoot for her hit 2016 song "Slumber Party." That friendship morphed into the two becoming an item and a whirlwind romance that they would enjoy for the next six years. They announced their engagement in September 2021, three months after Britney testified in court to end her conservatorship. They were married in June the following year; but 14 months later, Britney and Asghari announced they had split, with divorce all but a certainty. 

Neither publicly provided any reason for the marriage breakup, although Britney, who posted several touching moments involving the twosome during their years together on Instagram, used the same medium to let fans know where her head was at once she and Asghari had parted ways. "Six years is a long time to be with someone," she wrote in part, "so, I'm a little shocked but ... I'm not here to explain why because its honestly nobody's business!!! But, I couldn't take the pain anymore honestly!!!" 

It turned out Asghari actually petitioned the divorce, prompting rumors among Britney's fans that he planned to challenge their prenup and use the star's private videos for exploitation and a corresponding cash grab — allegations his representative denied. "Sam has always and will always support her," stated the spokesperson in part, per Today.

The 40 million-plus folks who follow Britney Spears on Instagram enjoy peering through a rather unique window into her world, although what's beaming back at them has sometimes causes fans to express concern for her mental health and well-being. One telling account occurred in February 2023, when she showed off a new dress while speaking in a British accent, before yelling out, "Never be a roller coaster!" Spears also referenced how worried fans previously called police — who visited her home in Thousand Oaks, California and reported that the singer was fine — after she temporarily deleted her Instagram that January. But that was just one of several since-deleted incidents that saw Spears axe her profile. 

The admitted weirdness continued when she streamed a video of her rolling on her bed topless to an Annie Lennox rendition of "I Put a Spell on You," while divorce proceedings against Sam Asghari were happening that August. Spears has also shown videos of her playing with knives (which she claimed were fake), pole dancing in a pink bikini, oddly comparing her uncle's resemblance to actor Brad Pitt, and eating cake off the floor.

Fans may be troubled by those posts, but according to one insider, the videos might be indicative of Spears trying to adjust to life after her conservatorship, although a miscarriage and a divorce might also complicate things. "The trauma didn't go away overnight just because the conservatorship ended," the source claimed to The U.S. Sun. "Some days can be extremely testing and conversations can trigger her to behave unusually or even erratically."

If you or anyone you know needs help with mental health, addiction issues, is struggling or in crisis, or may be the victim of domestic abuse, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

• Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.