Britney Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, publicly addressed the end of his daughter’s conservatorship for the first time.
In an interview with British tabloid The Daily Mail, Jamie defended the 13-year conservatorship, which placed severe restrictions on the pop star’s personal freedoms. “Not everybody’s going to agree with me,” he said. “It’s been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? And I don’t know if she’d be alive. I don’t.”
Without specifying any incidents or allegedly troubling behavior from his daughter, Jamie claimed that the court order ultimately protected her. “For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool," he added. "Without it, I don’t think she would have got the kids back."
Spears’s father suggested that he’s remained quiet on the matter publicly because he doesn’t want to send his daughter back “further down the hole,” adding that really misses her two sons, Jayden and Preston. “You know, we were very, very close," he said. "They were around that age where you could start having a good time with them. But they were developing a mind of their own. God makes things happen for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is but it’s been a tough three years without them. The family’s a mess. All we can do is keep praying.”
As part of her conservatorship, Spears had limited access to her two sons with ex Kevin Federline. “They didn’t miss time with their mother. They didn’t miss time with their father. Not many people knew that,” Spears said. “The main purpose was to get Britney back with her kids in a comfortable relationship,” he added. “My relationship with Kevin gave them a sense of peace, and of protection. Kevin will tell you this too—it was us who raised the kids. I just did what I was supposed to do or felt like I needed to do.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he claimed the conservatorship was pursued because his daughter was “broke” at the time. “My understanding of a conservatorship is to help someone regain their life and return back to society, and to be able to live normally,” he added. “I want to say that I made a difference. There were a few people behind me that really helped bring it to a point where we could help her.”
Spears also claimed that no one knows the truth about what happened between him and his daughter, and fought back against claims he admitted her to a psychiatric facility against her will. “Her lawyer doesn’t have a clue what the truth is. The media has not heard the truth," he added. "They’ve heard the allegations from Britney. I don’t mind taking that beating because I know it’s not true, and because I don’t want to start something else. For my daughter to end up going further down the hole than she had been.”
