Kevin Federline is making serious claims about his ex-wife Britney Spears in his new memoir, You Thought You Knew, detailing troubling moments from their marriage and early parenthood.
In the book, Federline, 47, reflects on his relationship with the pop star, 43, their three-year marriage, and their ongoing co-parenting challenges as they raised sons Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19.
He recalls being alarmed when Spears allegedly drank alcohol while pregnant and on medication, describing it as a moment when a “silent alarm” went off in his head.
“That mix was… dangerous. F—ed up, honestly,” he writes. “You’re not supposed to drink when you’re on meds like that. A couple of glasses of wine for her would hit like a whole bottle because of the medication.”
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Federline says he initially tried to justify her behavior, understanding the immense pressure of fame and how she used alcohol and medication to cope.
Still, he claims things escalated at his album release party in October 2006 when Spears — who’d told him she would stay home with their sons, including six-week-old Jayden — unexpectedly showed up and began using cocaine with a friend.
He writes that he was “stunned” by the scene and deeply concerned because both boys were still nursing. “I had seen it before, her drinking and breastfeeding, and it was really upsetting because of the danger to the kids,” he says, adding that Spears could have “pumped milk for Jayden” ahead of time.
Federline recalls asking her not to go home and nurse the children, which led to an argument in which she threw a drink in his face. He calls that moment “the proverbial final straw,” saying, “Her reaction. That’s what ended us.”
In her own 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, Spears denied ever having a drinking problem and said the only drug she ever used was Adderall. “I have never had any interest in hard drugs,” she wrote.
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A representative for Spears criticized Federline’s decision to release the book, saying in a statement shared before publication, “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. 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.”
Spears later addressed the claims directly in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Oct. 15, calling the accusations “extremely hurtful and exhausting.”
“I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys,” she wrote. “Relationships with teenage boys are complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.”
She continued, “With one son only seeing me for 45 minutes in the past five years and the other with only four visits in the past five years, I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available. Trust me, those white lies in that book, they are going straight to the bank, and I am the only one who genuinely gets hurt here.”
“I will always love them,” she added, “and if you really know me, you won’t pay attention to the tabloids about my mental health and drinking. I am actually a pretty intelligent woman who has been trying to live a sacred and private life the past five years. I speak on this because I have had enough — and any real woman would do the same.”
