Britney Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline says father Jamie ‘saved her life’

The ex-husband of Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, sat down with 60 Minutes Australia for a rare interview that aired on Sunday night. 

The 44-year-old former backup dancer was drawn on a wide range of topics regarding his pop star ex-wife, including her controversial conservatorship, which ended last year. 

Federline says that he believes that the move, which left Britney, 40, without control over her life, career or finances, was necessary for the singer. 

Asked if Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, 70, made the right decision in enacting the conservatorship, Federline said that at the time, he did.  

‘One hundred percent I feel like he saved her back then,’ Federline told the program during the candid chat. 

Federline however admitted he was not involved in any of the details concerning the conservatorship and wasn’t privy to the ultimate reasoning for it being installed. 

The 44-year-old former backup dancer was drawn on a wide range of topics regarding his pop star ex-wife, including her controversial conservatorship, which ended last year. Britney Spears is pictured in a recent Instagram post 

‘I wasn’t involved in any of it how the conservatorship came about. I don’t know. They were worried about their daughter and trying to do whatever they can to help her. That’s all that I knew,’ he admitted. 

The former performer says the couple’s sons Sean, 16, and Jayden, 15, were ‘happy’ for their mother when her conservatorship ended.   

‘Both of them were so happy for her, you know? Because it’s not always about what’s right. It’s about this is what mum wanted, you know, mum got,’ he said. 

Asked if Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, 70, made the right decision in enacting the conservatorship, Federline said that at the time, he did. ‘One hundred percent I feel like he saved her back then,’ Federline told the program during the candid chat

The former performer says the couple’s sons Sean, 16, and Jayden, 15, were ‘happy’ for their mother when her conservatorship ended. The boys have now chosen to stay apart from their mother. Pictured together

Kevin insisted that it’s important for his sons to have a close relationship with their grandparents, Britney’s father Jamie and mother, Lynne, 67, as well as her uncle.   

‘They’re my kids’ immediate family, you know. That’s their grandfather and their grandmother and their uncle,’ he said. 

‘I feel that it’s very important that they have relationships with all of them, regardless of what happens.’

Elsewhere in the interview, Britney and Kevin’s teenage son Jayden (pictured), who himself is an aspiring musician and accomplished pianist, said his grandfather had Britney’s best interests at heart

Elsewhere in the interview, Britney and Kevin’s teenage son Jayden, who himself is an aspiring musician and accomplished pianist, said his grandfather had Britney’s best interests at heart.    

‘He was trying to be like any father, like pursue his daughter’s dream of being a superstar, working and doing all these concerts and performing,’ he said. 

‘But I think some people are just, like, ceasing to realise how much he cares about her’. 

‘He was trying to be like any father, like pursue his daughter’s dream of being a superstar, working and doing all these concerts and performing,’ he said. ‘But I think some people are just, like, ceasing to realise how much he cares about her’

Jayden also explained why he and his brother Sean did not attend their mother’s wedding to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari, 28, (right) in June

Jayden also explained why he and his brother Sean did not attend their mother’s wedding to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari, 28, in June.  

‘I’m really happy for them. But, like, I mean… She didn’t invite the whole family, and then if it was going to be me and Preston, like, I don’t see how that situation would have ended on good terms,’ he said. 

Federline previously revealed that his sons had skipped her wedding to Asghari and hadn’t seen her in months partly due to semi-nude photos she posted to Instagram since the end of her conservatorship.

‘I’m really happy for them. But, like, I mean… She didn’t invite the whole family, and then if it was going to be me and Preston, like, I don’t see how that situation would have ended on good terms,’ he said. Jayden is pictured giving sister Payton a piggy-back

Federline and Spears only dated for three months in 2004 before they got engaged in July of that year, and they were married by September. The pop star filed for divorce in November 2006, with it being finalised the following year. Pictured in 2005 in Hollywood

Sean and Jayden have apparently become disengaged from their mother recently. 

‘Although the boys will not be in attendance, Kevin and the boys are happy for Britney and wish her and Sam all the best going forward, Federline’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told TMZ in a statement at the time.

Federline and Spears only dated for three months in 2004 before they got engaged in July of that year, and they were married by September.

In an interview from August with ITV, Federline claimed that, ‘The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now’, which he attributed to some of her raunchy post-conservatorship Instagram posts

Britney gave birthday to Sean in September of 2005, and Jayden followed around a year later in 2006, but the pop star filed for divorce in November 2006, with it being finalised the following year.

In an interview from August with ITV, Federline claimed that, ‘The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now’, which he attributed to some of her raunchy post-conservatorship Instagram posts.

‘It’s been a few months since they’ve seen her. They made the decision not to go to her wedding,’ he explained.

On Saturday night, Spears said it ‘saddened’ her to hear Kevin speaking so publicly about private family matters

But the singer swiftly responded to Federline’s claims and suggested the estrangement began before her risqué posts.

‘It saddens me to hear that my ex husband has decided to discuss the relationship between me and my children,’ Spears wrote on Instagram August 6. ‘As we all know, raising teenage boys is never easy for anyone … it concerns me the fact that the reason is based on my Instagram … it was LONG before Instagram … I gave them every thing … Only one word: HURTFUL.’

In his own statement, Asghari also denied Federline’s claims while including a barb about his work history.

‘The boys are very smart and will be 18 soon to make their own decisions and may eventually realize the ‘tough’ part was having a father who hasn’t worked much in over 15 years as a role model,’ Kevin said  

‘The boys are very smart and will be 18 soon to make their own decisions and may eventually realize the ‘tough’ part was having a father who hasn’t worked much in over 15 years as a role model,’ he wrote.

In August, Federline posted a series of clips of their young sons arguing with their mother. 

The move was branded ‘cruel’ and a ‘violation of privacy’ by Spears’ lawyer Mathew Rosengart.

Kevin also defended Britney’s estranged father Jamie (pictured in 2008) who controlled every aspect of her life during a 13-year conservatorship, which ended on November 12

‘I can not sit back and let my sons be accused in this way after what they’ve been through,’ the father-of-six wrote.

In 2019, Federline was granted 70 per cent custody of their sons while Spears was downgraded to 30 per cent, according to TMZ.

Federline also defended Spears’ estranged father Jamie – a former building contractor who controlled every aspect of her life during a 13-year conservatorship, which ended on November 12.

‘I saw a man that really cared, and wanting everything to be okay…I would absolutely welcome Jamie Spears back in the boys’ lives,’ Federline said of his former father-in-law 

‘I saw a man that really cared, and wanting everything to be okay…I would absolutely welcome Jamie Spears back in the boys’ lives.’

Federline’s two-year marriage to Spears ended in July 2007, and six months later she was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold.

In November, a Los Angeles judge ordered an end to the conservatorship that has controlled Spears’s life – and $60 million fortune – for the past 13 years. 

It had been more than a year since Britney started begging the court to end her father’s control and for the conservatorship – which she called ‘abusive’ – to be terminated altogether. 

Federline’s two-year marriage to Spears ended in July 2007, and six months later she was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold. Pictured (L–R) Bryan Spears, Jayden, Sean, Britney and niece Lexie in 2015

Her father Jamie Spears had petitioned the court for the conservatorship to end, and in September relinquished financial control – ending his $16,000 a month payments in the process.

While Jamie’s lawyers filed a motion agreeing with Britney that the conservatorship should end, he insisted that there was no wrongdoing on his part and he was always looking out for his daughter’s interests. 

During an impassioned court appearance prior to the end of her conservatorship, Spears had claimed that she hadn’t been allowed to drive her own car and that she was prohibited from having her contraceptive IUD removed in order to have a child with her then-boyfriend Sam Asghari. 

Earlier this year Britney posted a series of naked pictures online to celebrate her freedom, before deleting them