HAVING had her life controlled for 13 years Britney Spears knew what she was going to do with her hard won freedom – have another baby.
There was an outpouring of joy when the 40-year-old singer announced she is expecting her third child, which will be her first with partner Sam Asghari, 28.
Friends told The Sun that Britney’s “number one goal” after being freed from her father’s controversial conservatorship in November had been to add to her brood.
The singer claimed last year that the guardianship overseen by Jamie Spears, 69, prevented her from removing a contraceptive coil despite her desire to have more children.
Celebs including Paris Hilton and millions of fans liked Britney’s pregnancy announcement on Instagram on Monday.
The #FreeBritney movement helped convince a judge to overturn the conservatorship, which had been in place since 2008.
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The singer also doesn’t appear to have wasted much time in getting ‘hitched’ to Sam now she is free to do so.
Britney referred to fitness expert and actor Sam, who she met five and a half years ago, as her ‘husband’ – although it has not been confirmed that they are actually married.
Writing on her Instagram page, she said: “I lost so much weight to go on my Maui trip only to gain it back. I thought ‘Geez what happened to my stomach ???’
“My husband said ‘No you’re food pregnant silly!!!’ So I got a pregnancy test and uhhhhh well I am having a baby.”
The couple took a romantic break on the island of Maui in Hawaii two months ago, staying at a coastal villa.
Since escaping her father’s grip the Oops I Did It Again singer has dropped several hints that another child was on its way.
Just four days after getting out of the conservatorship she posted on Instagram “I am thinking of having another baby!!! I wonder if this one is a girl.”
And in December in front of a Christmas tree with her back turned to the camera she mimed feeding milk to an unseen baby and wrote “new addition to the family.”
A source close to the star revealed: “This was Britney’s top priority the moment her conservatorship was removed – both she and Sam couldn’t be more excited. She loves her two older children but has felt for many years that a third baby was something she desperately wanted, especially with Sam, but the legal restrictions made that impossible.
“It’s one of the major reasons she fought so hard to be released from the conservatorship. For 13 years she had lost all rights over her own body, and this symbolises her regaining those rights in the most powerful way — they’re both delighted.”
Sam and Britney are making the most of being allowed to make the kind of decisions together that other adults take for granted.
First time dad-to-be Sam commented last night: “Marriage and kids are a natural part of a strong relationship filled with love and respect.”
The Iranian born actor met Britney on the set of the music video for her 2016 single Slumber Party. He has been close by her side ever since and they got engaged in September.
If they are now married, Britney and Sam exchanged vows in secret because neither of them have posted any images or details of the happy event.
Marriage and kids are a natural part of a strong relationship filled with love and respect.
Sam Asghari
It would be Britney’s third marriage. She wed childhood sweetheart Jason Alexander in Las Vegas in 2004, only to have it annulled after 55 hours, and later that year married dancer Kevin Federline, the father of her two sons Sean Preston, 16, and 15-year-old Jayden. They divorced in 2007.
Muscly toy boy Sam is better known as a personal trainer than actor.
So far he has appeared in supporting roles, but Sam says he hopes to star in a superhero movie.
Britney’s dad was reported to be against them walking down the aisle. It seems that the greatest gift Sam has given Britney is another shot at parenthood.
She often posts images of young children on her social media and talks about the pleasure of being a mother. A year ago she wrote: “My boys are so big now. I know it’s very hard for any mama especially a mama with boys seeing them grow up so fast.
“I’m extremely lucky because my two babies are such gentlemen and so kind that I must have done something right.” That is a remarkable achievement for all involved because motherhood was far from easy for Britney.
The singer, who has sold nearly 150million records, had to deal with depression during pregnancy. She revealed in a recent post: “It’s hard because when I was pregnant I had perinatal depression. I have to say it is absolutely horrible.”
Just a couple of months after her youngest son was born she split from Kevin and her life spiralled out of control.
Britney struggled with drink and drugs problems and had two spells in rehab.
There were reports that she drove her car with one of her children on her lap and in 2007 a judge decided to award full custody of the boys to Kevin.
She was granted visitation rights and was able to see the boys 30 per cent of the time. Among the hard times, there were a lot of good ones as well. Britney has shared tales of her meeting Sean and Jayden under the same tree every year and of other children flocking to them on tour.
So it is little wonder that now she can, she put priority on getting pregnant ahead of heading straight back on tour or recording a new album.
Britney’s team had lined up a second residency for her in Las Vegas but that was put on indefinite hold so she could focus on her family. There are plans to write an autobiography and appear on the Oprah Winfrey show in order to put forward her side of the story.
Britney is also engaged in a legal battle with her estranged dad. She wants Jamie, 69, to return £4.4million that she alleges he incorrectly earned while controlling her financial and personal affairs.
She is letting her voice be heard, as it should be, and fulfilling her dreams.
Leigh Ann Spears Wrather
Legal documents claim that around £22million was spent on lawyers during the conservatorship. Her lawyer Matthew Rosengart also made allegations about Jamie’s security team spying on Britney by placing a recording device in her bedroom.
A hearing is scheduled to take place in July to get to the bottom of the financial wrangles. Escaping from the conservatorship has allowed Britney to express herself freely on her Instagram account, which has over 40million followers.
She has taken the opportunity to hit back at any slight – reserving particular criticism for her younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears’ decision to release a memoir which goes into disturbing details about Britney’s mental health issues.
Often Britney posts videos of herself dancing and occasionally images of herself naked. Her aunt Leigh Ann Spears Wrather defended the star’s right to let her hair down.
She said: “She’s finally being able to live a little. I don’t think she’s unhinged or crazy. She’s not doing anything wrong. She’s in a good place.”
Certainly, a post where Britney makes fun of all the therapists she has seen over the past 15 years suggests she is a woman with plenty of wit and intelligence.
And she no longer faces the stresses and strains of being a young star that affected her first time as a parent. Leigh Ann, 54, who is dad Jamie’s sister, congratulated Britney on her baby news.
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Expressing the thought of so many well-wishers, she said: “So excited. She’s been wanting this for so, so long.
“She is empowering herself. She is letting her voice be heard, as it should be, and fulfilling her dreams. It is a happy ending.”
