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Britney Spears has had a wild life. From being the biggest pop star in the world in the early 2000s to suffering mental health issues from the fame and being placed in a 13-year conservatorship, the “Toxic” singer has gone through challenges that many of us could never dream of. But one thing that remained consistent? Her love for her kids!
The Woman In Meauthor is mom to sons Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17, with ex Kevin Federline. The two boys were born almost exactly a year apart, with Preston’s birthday on Sept. 14, 2005, and J.J.’s birthday on Sept. 12, 2006.
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Although the boys were happy to follow their mom to red-carpet events as kids, in recent years their relationship has been more strained. Like when J.J. told filmmaker Daphne Barak, “I think Mom has struggled giving us both attention and showing us equal love and I don’t think she showed enough to Preston and I feel really bad for that.”
Spears responded in a lengthy post on Instagram, reiterating the struggles she went through during her conservatorship and adding, “Finally at 40 without the restraints of what my family did to me … I say to my son Jayden that I send all the love in the world to you every day for the rest of my life!!! My love for my children has no boundaries.”
Justin Timberlake is reportedly prioritizing his family following Britney Spears' memoir allegations. https://t.co/3ykW6wN7AI
— SheKnows (@SheKnows) October 18, 2023
In July 2023, TMZreported that Federline and his wife were moving to Hawaii and taking Preston and J.J. with them. The teens allegedly left without saying goodbye to their mom, so it seems like there are still some wounds that need to be healed.
The pop star, who recently revealed she had an abortion with ex Justin Timberlake back in 2000, has opened up about the ups and downs of motherhood throughout the years, and we’ve compiled some of her most poignant quotes below.
On Being Pregnant
“I think being pregnant is such an empowering feeling,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “And for mothers out there in general, you don’t feel the most beautiful all the time.”
On Her Firstborn Preston
“I’m so blessed with my baby,” Spears told Matt Lauer in 2006. “That’s the happiest thing that’s ever — it’s like a miracle. [I] just want the most normal life possible for him, that’s all.”
On Having Perinatal Depression
“When I was pregnant I had perinatal depression … I have to say it is absolutely horrible 😔” Spears wrote on Instagram in April 2022. “… women didn’t talk about it back then … some people considered it dangerous if a woman complained like that with a baby inside her … but now women talk about it everyday … thank Jesus we don’t have to keep that pain a reserved proper secret 🤫 😬😬😬 …”
On Doing Your ‘Best’
“As a mother, the one thing that always goes through your head is, You’re never enough. You never can be enough — or do enough — for your kids,” Spears told Glamour in 2008. “It’s a never-ending issue for me. I had to learn: Don’t beat yourself up so much … You have to take it one day at a time, do the best that you can and enjoy yourself.”
She added, “I notice that if there are some times I’ve been stressed, because I’m human and stress about things, that affects your kids. So you have to make sure you’re a happy mom so they can be happy.”
On How Motherhood Changed the Way She Dresses
“Well, I feel like: I’m a mother now! So I am more conscious of what I wear,” the “Circus” singer told Glamour. “Because when I was younger I would wear just about anything — and I would always show my belly. I mean, I still do that now when I perform, but it’s just done more in a tasteful manner.”
On Putting Her Kids First
Spears told PEOPLE in 2017 that her “kids come first, always.” She added,”There is nothing more rewarding than being a mom and watching my sons grow into young men. I am so lucky that I get to experience all of life’s adventures with them.”
On Her Kids Growing Up
“It’s so crazy how time flies …. My boys are so big now 👩👦👦 !!!!” Spears wrote on Instagram in March 2021. ” I know … I know … it’s very hard for any mama especially a mama with boys seeing them grow up so fast !!!! Talk about enough to make you go to your knees … GEEZ !!!!”
She went on, “I’m extremely lucky because my two babies are such gentleman and so kind that I must have done something right 🙊 !!!!”
On What She Hopes to Teach Her Sons
Spears wrote her sons a letter in TIME Magazine in 2016, saying in part, “You are my masterpieces. From the day I saw the most precious eyes, I believed in miracles to the core. Such a gift God has given me, exploring in your beautiful worlds every day. I pray as a mother I teach you strength and passion to carry through the struggles in the world.”
On Her Painful Estrangement From Her Boys
“Since they’ve been gone, I’ve honestly felt like a huge part of me has died,” the Crossroads actress said in a since-deleted Sept. 2022 Instagram post, per Us Weekly. “Like, literally, I have no purpose anymore. They were my joy, they were my everything. I looked forward to seeing them. That was what I lived for.”
On Her Abortion
Spears revealed that she had an abortion with ex Justin Timberlake in 2000. In an excerpt of her book, The Woman In Me, shared by PEOPLE, she revealed that the pregnancy “was a surprise” but not a “tragedy” for her.
“I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day,” she wrote, adding that the “Cry Me a River” singer “definitely wasn’t happy about the pregnancy. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.”
“I don’t know if [having an abortion] was the right decision,” she wrote. “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. To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life.”
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