As fans eagerly await the release of Britney Spears' memoir, "The Woman in Me," TODAY.com is taking a look back at some of the notable relationships in the pop star's life.
Out on Oct. 24, the memoir will discuss “her freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope,” according to the book’s website.
The singer is also expected to address her former marriages in her memoir, including the one with ex-husband Kevin Federline. The two were married from 2004 to 2007 and share two sons: Sean Preston Federline (18) and Jayden James Federline (17).
After a whirlwind romance, the former couple divorced a few years later and engaged in a heated custody battle. Below is a timeline of their relationship highs and lows.
Summer 2004: Spears and Federline meet
Before meeting Spears, Federline was a backup dancer for her ex-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake. The couple first crossed paths in 2004 at a club in Hollywood and Federline reflected on the encounter during a 2008 interview with People.
"Our eyes met and that was it. We just hit it off right away. I learned real fast how much of a whirlwind the press and everything was," he said at the time.
Dating in the public eye was sometimes "tough," according to Federline, but he said they tried their best to maintain "a little bit of a private life."
"It’s not like they knew everything that we would say to each other or every great moment that we would have. I was madly in love with her. Everything just seemed so right. I didn’t see it as too fast or too slow," he said.
September 2004: The couple gets married
Just months after they began dating, Spears and Federline took their relationship to the next level and got married in September 2004.
“It is great that this (wedding) has happened, because it has made me realize that I am growing up, becoming a woman, and things just need to be different,” Spears told People at the time. “I feel like it’s a beginning.”
While speaking with the publication, the pop star said she and her new husband decided to host a surprise wedding instead of a larger ceremony.
“It became this huge thing and I was like, ‘What are we waiting for? We know this is the real thing, why not just do it now?’ That’s why I wanted to sneak and do it our little way,” she said.
In a 2005 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Spears said she was the one to pop the question to Federline.
“Actually, I was a little rejected at first. I kind of got slapped down,” she said.
In response, Federline offered the following response: “I told her that it’s not right for the woman to ask the man. The man’s supposed to get on one knee and do it right. It took me about five minutes, and then I turned around and asked her.”
May 2005: The couple stars in their own reality show
In the early days of reality TV, Spears and Federline let viewers into their home and starred in a UPN series titled "Britney and Kevin: Chaotic." The five-episode show chronicled their whirlwind relationship, engagement and wedding.
September 2005: The couple welcomes their first child
The newlyweds welcomed their first child, a son named Sean Preston Federline, in September 2005.
September 2006: The couple welcomes their second child
The couple welcomed their second child, Jayden James Federline, in September 12, 2006. Jayden arrived two days before his older brother's birthday, Sept. 14.
November 2006: Spears files for divorce
Shortly after welcoming her second child, Spears filed for divorce from her husband, citing irreconcilable differences.
A few days before the news went public, Federline spoke with People about his career and family life.
"We’re people, like, it’s like any relationship. We have our ups and downs and we work through everything that we possibly can. If we can’t work through it, we drop it and that’s where it stays," he said.
The dancer elaborated on the state of his personal life, saying, he and Spears "have our times and our spats and all that stuff, but other than that we’re good."
The exes finalized their divorce in July 2007.
2006-2007: A custody battle emerges
When Spears initially filed for divorce, she sought legal and physical custody of their sons. Federline fired back by seeking sole custody of the children.
A long custody battle ensued and Federline received sole physical and legal custody of the children following a series of concerning events that led Spears to enter a psychiatric facility.
By February 2008, Spears was allowed to visit with her sons. Three months later, she was granted expanded visits.
The exes finalized their custody case in 2008.
2013: Federline remarries
In 2013, Federline married Victoria Prince and went on to have two children with his wife. In addition to his children with Prince and Spears, Federline also has two other children from a previous relationship.
2018 Federline asks for more child support
Federline requested more child support from his ex-wife in 2018, as reported by Entertainment Tonight. They reportedly reached an agreement in September 2018.
September 2019: Spears and Kevin form new custody arrangement
The former couple’s new arrangement granted Spears 30% of unsupervised custodial rights. Federline, in turn, had 70% of custodial rights, per E! News. The two had previously agreed on 50-50 custody.
2022: Spears remarries
In June 2022, Spears married her longtime beau, Sam Asghari. Her first husband, Jason Alexander, was charged with stalking for showing up at the celebration.
2022: Spears and Federline engage in a public feud
Old wounds resurfaced in 2022 when Federline gave an interview to ITV about his ex-wife's estranged relationship with their two sons.
“The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now. It’s been a few months since they’ve seen her. They made the decision not to go to her wedding," he said, adding that part of the tension arose over her Instagram account.
In response, Spears shared the following statement on Instagram.
“It saddens me to hear that my ex-husband has decided to discuss the relationship between me and my children ...” she wrote. “As we all know, raising teenage boys is never easy for anyone .. It concerns me the fact that the reason is based on my Instagram ... it was LONG before Instagram ... I gave them everything. Only one word: HURTFUL ... l’Il say it ... My mother told me ‘You should GIVE them to their dad.’ I’m sharing this because I can. Have a good day folks!!!”
The same month, Federline appeared to share videos of his ex-wife fighting with their sons. In response, Spears' attorney released a statement saying she had “faithfully supported her children” and “loves them dearly.”
October 2023: Spears talks about co-parenting
While talking about her memoir in an email interview with People, the singer said that she is in contact with her sons, who now live in Hawaii with Federline.
“Starting a family was my dream come true,” she said. “Being a mom was my dream come true.”