celebrity

All of the things Britney Spears didn't say in her memoir.

It's the celebrity memoir of all our hopes and dreams, and according to the author herself, Britney Spears, it's also made a whole lot of money.

"My book is the highest-selling celebrity memoir in history," Spears claimed to her followers on Instagram this week.

The Woman In Me charts the rise of Britney Spears from a unknown girl from Lousiana with big dreams to redefining pop music. And of course, it wouldn't be a decent celebrity memoir if it didn't feature some salacious gossip, such as Britney accusing her famous ex, Justin Timberlake, of cheating on her during their three-year relationship.

From her past relationships to her conservatorship, and her fractured relationships with her family, The Woman In Me covers a lot.

But there are a few subjects that were curiously left out – so we went ahead and rounded up the most glaring omissions.

Christina Aguilera's involvement in Britney Spears' 2003 VMAs performance. 

Britney dedicated a whole section of the book to the iconic performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards when Madonna kissed both herself and Christina Aguilera. She praises Madonna as her mentor throughout the book, but based on what was written, you wouldn't even know Christina was there.

Britney ommitted Aguilera's role in the performance of 'Like A Virgin' altogether.

It's unclear her motivation for excluding Christina from this part of her story, but it could be a response to something the 'Ain't No Other Man' singer said about Britney after the VMAs performance. 

"Every time I tried to start a conversation with her – well, let's just say she seemed nervous the whole time," Christina told Blender in 2003. "She seems to me like a lost little girl, someone who desperately needs guidance."

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This comment was the start of the two pop star's long-running feud, which is another topic that the book mostly shies away from discussing. 

Britney did claim that the kiss was a spontaneous decision she made at the last minute, though. 

"About two minutes before the performance, I was sitting on the side of the stage and thinking about my biggest performance to date at the VMAs, when I pulled off a suit to reveal a sparkly outfit," she wrote. "I thought to myself: 'I want a moment like that again this year. With the kiss, should I just go for it?'"

Controversial ex-manager Sam Lufti. 

For fans and followers of Britney Spears and the #FreeBritney movement, the name Sam Lufti is synonomous with drama. 

Before her conservatoship, Britney was often spotted with Sam by her side. The two met in a bar when Sam had a reputation for "attaching himself to celebrities, often at vulnerable moments for them", a The New York Times reporter claimed in Framing Britney.

By 2008, Britney's family had filed a restraining order against Lufti. Britney's mum has long spoken out about how the manager negatively affected the pop star's mental wellbeing during the years working together.

Britney's silence over Sam could have something to do with wanting to avoid any sort of legal provocation. In 2016, the star's legal team settled a defamation lawsuit brought by her ex-manager, paying Lufti a six-figure settlement.

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Some of the pop singer's controversies and charges. 

There are several times Britney made headlines that are not discussed in the memoir. In 2007, Spears was charged with hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence. She hit the tabloids again in 2006 for driving with her baby on her lap, which the singer briefly mentioned in her memoir but didn't explain at length. 

Then in 2021, Britney was under investigation for alleged battery of a member of staff after her housekeeper claimed she slapped her a cell phone out of her hands – but it was dismissed due to a lack of evidence. 

None of this is mentioned in The Woman In Me

Custody battle with Kevin Federline and declining relationship with her kids.

Spears dedicated her memoir to her sons, Preston and Jayden, writing, "For my boys, who are the loves of my life." But there's not much more said about her kids or her ongoing custody battle with ex-husband, Kevin Federline. 

Spears and her backup dancer Federline tied the knot in September 2004 after only three months of dating.They welcomed their first son, Sean Preston, in 2005, and then Jayden James was born in 2006, mere weeks before Spears filed for divorce.

At first, the couple were granted joint custody but due to the singer's mental health struggles, Federline was granted sole custody of the two boys in 2008.

One of the reasons Spears said she "went along" with the 2008 conservatorship was that so she would be "reunited with my boys", she wrote.

"My freedom in exchange for naps with my children – it was a trade I was willing to make." 

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Britney Spears with her sons in 2013. Image: Getty. 

But this is all Spears says about her relationship with Preston and Jayden, which has grown distant over the years. 

By 2019, the exes reached a new custody agreement whereby Federline was awarded 70 per cent custody and Spears had 30 per cent of the unsupervised custodial rights.

Britney's sons did not attend their mother’s wedding to Sam Asghari in June 2022. 

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"The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now," Kevin told ITV at the time. "It’s been a few months since they’ve seen her. They made the decision not to go to her wedding."

Jayden also spoke to ITV about their decision to skip the big day.

"I'm really happy for them, but she didn’t invite the whole family, and then if it was just going to be me and Preston, I just don’t see how that situation would have ended on good terms," he said.

Jayden also took issue with his mother frequently posting nude photos on Instagram. "It's almost as if she has to post something to get attention," Jayden said.

"This has gone on for years and years and years, and this actually may never stop."

He also took the chance to defend Britney's conservator and his grandfather, Jamie Spear,s and grandmother, Lynne Spears. "They are not bad people," he said, but admitted the conservatorship went on for "too long".

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Spears responded to Jayden, writing: "I didn’t do anything wrong and I know I'm not perfect... it deeply saddens me to know his outcry of saying I wasn’t up to his expectations of a mother... and maybe one day we can meet face to face and talk about this openly!"

Preston and Jayden have since moved to Hawaii with their father. 

Britney Spears' divorce from Sam Asghari.

Britney wrote about meeting and marrying Sam Asghari in the memoir, along with the couple suffering a miscarriage, but there was no mention of their impending divorce or noting any problems in their relationship.

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Britney still refers to Sam as "my husband" in the book.

Britney and Sam met in October 2016 on the set of her 'Slumber Party' music video. They got engaged in September 2021 and were wed in a star-studded ceremony in June 2022.

But by August 2023, Asghari had filed for divorce.

In the book, Britney also reflected on their first meeting. "The first time I saw Hesam Asghari on the set of my video for 'Slumber Party,' I knew I wanted him in my life immediately. I was instantly smitten. The chemistry with us in the beginning was insane. We couldn't keep our hands off each other. He called me his lioness," Britney wrote.

"He's such an inspiration and I'm grateful. The timing of the end of the conservatorship was perfect for our relationship; we were able to establish a new life together, without limitations, and get married. Our wedding was a beautiful celebration of how much we'd been through together and how deeply we wished for each other’s happiness."

It's likely that Britney's book was already well on its way to being published when Sam filed for divorce, which would explain why this part of her story didn't make the finished memoir.

Feature image: Getty.

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