Britney Spears Was ‘Clueless’ About Kevin Federline's Child with Shar Jackson When They Started Dating
Britney Spears’ “The Woman in Me” hit shelves Oct. 24. In the memoir, the singer explores her rise to pop stardom, her well-documented family drama, her relationship with Justin Timberlake and her infamous decision to shave her head.
The memoir includes the bombshell that Spears was unaware her ex-husband Kevin Federline had a baby on the way with “Moesha” star Shar Jackson when they started dating in 2004.
“Kevin had a ‘bad boy’ image. Still, I had no idea when we met that he had a toddler, nor that his ex-girlfriend was eight months pregnant with his second baby,” Spears wrote, per Page Six.
“I was clueless. I was living in a bubble, and I didn’t have a lot of good, close friends to confide in and get advice from. I had no idea until after we’d been together for a while and someone told me, ‘You know he has a new baby, right?’“
The “Gimme More” singer asked Federline, “You have kids? You have children? Not only one child but two children?”
Jackson and Federline were in a relationship in the early 2000s. Best known for her role as Niecy Jackson on the television series "Moesha," Jackson shares two children with Federline, Kori Madison Federline and Kaleb Michael Jackson Federline. Their relationship attracted significant media attention, especially when Federline's relationship with Spears became public.
After Spears and Federline were married in 2004, they had two children together, Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline. They divorced in 2007.
In the memoir, the 41-year-old Grammy winner reflects on her experience grappling with postpartum depression while navigating a challenging custody battle with Federline.
“Kevin tried to convince everyone that I was completely out of control,” she wrote. “He started to say I shouldn’t have my kids anymore — at all.”
Following two involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations in 2008, Spears was placed under conservatorship. Despite these challenges, she ultimately regained custody of her children.