Britney Spears has taken aim at her former husband, Kevin Federline, over his forthcoming memoir, accusing him of “gaslighting” her. In a recent post, she also expressed her frustration with their sons in a strongly worded statement.

The 43-year-old pop icon criticized Federline, 47, along with their sons, Sean Preston, 19, and Jayden, 18, following Federline’s startling allegation that their children would sometimes wake up to find Spears holding a knife.

In an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday, the “Toxic” singer declared she’s “had enough,” emphasizing that the “constant gaslighting” from her ex-husband is “extremely hurtful and exhausting.”

Spears also opened up about her strained relationship with her sons, admitting she feels “demoralized” by the situation. She expressed her longing for a closer connection, stating, “I have always pleaded and screamed to have a life with my boys.”

The heartbroken artist further revealed that she has only spent a mere “45 minutes in the past 5 years” with one of her sons, underscoring her distress over their limited interactions.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Federline’s representatives for comment. 

Britney Spears, 43, has slammed ex-husband Kevin Federline, 47, over his memoir, accusing him of ‘gaslighting’ her, and lashed out at their two sons, saying she’s ‘begged’ to see them; The former pair seen in 2006

Spears hit out at Federline and sons Sean Preston, 19, and Jayden, 18, following her ex’s recent shocking claim that the boys would wake up to find her holding a knife; Seen with her sons in 2013

The Toxic hitmaker said she’s ‘had enough’ in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday, writing, ‘The constant gaslighting from ex-husband is extremely hurtful and exhausting’

‘Relationships with teenage boys is complex. I have felt demoralized by this situation and have always asked and almost begged for them to be a part of my life.’ 

‘Sadly, they have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by own [sic] father for me,’ Spears went on.

‘They need to take responsibility for themselves,’ she added.

The Grammy lamented how little she has seen her sons, declaring that she will now be the one to set the rules for their visits. 

‘With one son only seeing me for 45 min in the past 5 years and the other with only 4 visits in the past 5 years. I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available.’ 

Spears continued, adding that she is the one who ‘gets hurt’ from the ‘white lies’ in Federline’s tell-all book. 

‘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.’

The singer concluded her statement with love for her two boys.

‘I will always love them and if you really know me, you won’t pay attention to the tabloids of 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 5 years. I speak on this because I have had enough and any real woman would do the same.’

It comes after Federline shockingly claimed their children would wake up to find her holding a knife.

Spears also admitted she has felt ‘demoralized’ about her fractured relationship with her sons and has ‘begged’ to see them; The star pictured in June

The devastated singer added that she’s seen one of her sons for only ’45 minutes in the past 5 years’; Pictured with Jayden in an Instagram snap from 2025

‘I have pride too. From now on I will let them know when I am available,’ she wrote, adding that the boys ‘need to take responsibility for themselves’; Sean (R) and Jayden (L) pictured in an Instagram snap 

Spears wrote that ‘sadly’ the boys ‘have always witnessed the lack of respect shown by own [sic] father for me’; Pictured with her father Jamie, who was in charge of her conservatorship for nearly 13 years

Federline dropped the alleged bombshell in his upcoming memoir, You Thought You Knew, according to an excerpt obtained by the New York Times.

Spears reportedly has had a strained relationship with the two children she shares with her former spouse these last few years, and Federline alleges their sons no longer wanted to visit their mother at home in their teen years – citing fear as one of their reasons.

‘They would awaken sometimes at night to find her standing silently in the doorway, watching them sleep — “Oh, you’re awake?” — with a knife in her hand,’ Federline wrote in the excerpt obtained by The Times. ‘Then she’d turn around and pad off without explanation.’

Federline also wrote about his growing concerns about his ex after she began behaving erratically.

He laid bare his fears Spears was hurtling towards an ‘irreversible’ direction: ‘The truth is, this situation with Britney feels like it’s racing toward something irreversible,’ Federline said in the book.

‘It’s become impossible to pretend everything’s OK,’ Federline adds. ‘From where I sit, the clock is ticking, and we’re getting close to the 11th hour. Something bad is going to happen if things don’t change, and my biggest fear is that our sons will be left holding the pieces.’

Federline’s memoir also reflects on the night in 2008 when Spears was committed to the psych ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold, after she refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline.

Federline called it ‘one of the hardest nights of my life’ as he watched his partner in the midst of the ordeal.

Spears continued, adding that she is the one who ‘gets hurt’ from the ‘white lies’ in Federline’s tell-all book; The former pair, who were married from 2004 until 2007, seen in 2005

It comes after Federline shockingly claimed their children would wake up to find her holding a knife

‘I felt sick over what she was going through. This was someone I had loved. Someone I had built a life with. The mother of my children,’ he wrote.

The event came just before Spears was placed on her conservatorship, which was terminated after 13 years amid support from the Free Britney movement.

But Federline feels the movement had unintended consequences on the pop star’s current wellbeing.

While he says the support for ending the arrangement probably ‘started from a good place’, he notes it may have scared off professionals from helping his ex after seeing the backlash her inner circle received from Free Britney followers.

‘All those people who put so much effort into that,’ he wrote, ‘should now put the same energy into the “Save Britney” movement. Because this is no longer about freedom. It’s about survival.’

Federline admitted to The Times he has not spoken with Spears about what he has written.

‘I’ve never, ever, once, been against Britney,’ he told the publication. ‘I’ve only tried to help my sons have an incredible relationship with their mother. And it’s hard because when I really reflect on everything that’s happened — my kids do not know the woman that I married. And I’ve spent two decades trying to bridge that gap.’

In her memoir, Spears said she ‘never had a drinking problem’ nor any desire to take hard drugs, yet she did admit to taking Adderall, an ADHD medication. She also described struggling with postpartum depression during their contentious split and custody battle.

‘Kevin tried to convince everyone that I was completely out of control,’ Spears wrote. ‘He started to say I shouldn’t have my kids anymore — at all.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Spears for comment regarding Federline’s claims but have not yet heard back. A spokesperson for the pop star declined comment to The Times.

Federline’s knife allegation is reminiscent to a claim Spears’s sister Jamie made in her 2022 memoir Things I Never Said, in which she claimed her scared sibling locked them in a room together while holding a knife – an allegation the Lucky singer denied as ‘crazy lies’.

Spears famously wed the back-up dancer in 2004 after a whirlwind romance and they welcomed two children together.

Federline will be releasing I Thought You Knew on October 21; audiobook cover pictured

But the marriage fell apart just two years later, with Federline filing for divorce in 2006. They both became legally single the following year and Federline gained full custody of their kids after her 5150 hospitalization.

Spears is said to have endured a strained relationship with her children in recent years, with the kids even moving to Hawaii with their father in August 2023.

However, a source told The Daily Mail that the children surprised their mother with a visit this past Christmas. As of late, she has grown closer to Jayden.

In a press release about the book, set for release on October 21, Federline said his memoir will reveal ‘extremely intimate and transparent’ details about their ‘highly publicized marriage’.

‘I achieved my biggest dreams, dealt with crushing heartbreak and endured constant ridicule, all while becoming the father my children needed as they experienced non-stop emotional turbulence,’ the former backup dancer detailed.

The memoir has drawn the ire of Spears’s ex-husband Sam Asghari, whom she married then divorced in recent years.

‘Well, he was a professional father so he would be a great… it would be the first book that’ll tell you how to be a professional father,’ Sam told TMZ, seemingly referencing child support payments Federline received from Spears.