LOS ANGELES — After her arrest in California on Thursday, here’s a look at events in the life of Britney Spears since she was released from a court conservatorship in 2021. The pop superstar has in many ways led a very private life in the past 4 1/2 years, but big public moments have nonetheless come.
In flexing her newfound freedom, Spears marries her longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari. Spears, then 40, had cited her desire to marry Asghari as one of the factors fueling her desire to end the conservatorship that had been in effect for nearly 14 years. The two wed at her home in Thousand Oaks, California, in front of guests including Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton and Madonna. A childhood friend to whom she was once married for a few days attempts to crash the ceremony and is arrested.
In a temporary return to music-making, Spears collaborates with Elton John on the club-friendly single “Hold Me Closer.” It’s her first new music since 2016. The funky, piano-driven song, built around John’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer,” is a top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and tops the charts in several other countries.
A Broadway musical based around Spears’ songs opens with her endorsement and approval, but fails to resonate with critics or audiences and will close after just 2 1/2 months.
Spears has a strange interaction in Las Vegas with San Antonio Spurs then-rookie Victor Wembanyama. The moment is captured on video, but accounts conflict over what happened. Spears approaches Wembanyama from behind and tries to get his attention by tapping him on the back. A member of his security detail swipes away her arm, which hits her in the face. Spears calls the run-in “super embarrassing.” She files a report over the bodyguard’s actions with Las Vegas police, who say no arrest would be made. Wembanyama says he wasn’t told that Spears was the person involved until hours later, and that he never actually saw her.
Asghari files for divorce after just 14 months of marriage. He cites irreconcilable differences as the reason and seeks spousal support. Spears declines to publicly address the split.
Spears releases a memoir, “The Woman in Me.” It details her childhood and rise to stardom, her marriages and motherhood and her conservatorship. Her recent divorce from Asghari is not addressed. But several chapters are devoted to her relationship with Justin Timberlake, including deeply personal details about a pregnancy, abortion and painful breakup. The book sells more than a million copies in its first week.
Spears says rumors that she is planning a new album are false. She says in an Instagram post that she has no intention of ever returning to the music industry.
Spears reaches a settlement with her father Jamie Spears over lingering issues with the court conservatorship that he primarily controlled. The agreement avoids what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial. Spears’ attorney had sought a public reckoning over what he said was financial malfeasance by Jamie Spears and allegations of excessive surveillance of Spears, which he denied.
Spears reaches a settlement with Asghari in their divorce. Few details were made public, but neither Spears nor Asghari will get future spousal support, which he initially sought.
Universal Pictures lands the rights to Spears’ memoir “The Woman in Me” and announces it will develop a biopic of the pop star to be directed by Jon M. Chu, whose credits include “Crazy Rich Asians,” “In the Heights” and “Wicked.”
Spears’ ex-husband Kevin Federline, the father of her two sons, releases a memoir, “You Thought You Knew.” It includes allegations that Spears drank during pregnancy, used cocaine while the boys were still breastfeeding, and engaged in bizarre and frightening behavior during visits with them. Spears responds with a statement on her social media accounts saying Federline has engaged in “constant gaslighting” and the book is full of “white lies.”
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