Britney Spears' dad, Jamie Spears, has defended his decision to place the singer under a conservatorship and claimed he saved her life by doing so.
Spears, 70, opened up on the controversial choice one year after a Los Angeles judge brought the 13-year conservatorship to an end, allowing Britney to regain control over her own life and finances.
The singer has since got married to husband Sam Asghari and kept fans updated with her life through posts on Instagram, but Spears has argued that Britney wouldn't be where she is now without the conservatorship.
Speaking after years of widespread criticism over the conservatorship, Spears said: “I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. This situation between us is just terrible.”
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Spears claimed he is desperate to mend his relationship with his daughter, and argued that everything he did was in her best interests.
"My God, where would she be without that conservatorship now? I ain’t gonna paint you no pretty pictures. That conservatorship was one hell of a time, and without it I don’t know if she would be alive now," the 70-year-old told The Sun.
He expressed belief the conservatorship allowed Britney to rebuild her relationship with her sons, Preston, 17, and Jayden, 16, who were in the shared custody of Spears and their father, Kevin Federline, while Britney lived under the conservatorship.
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The two brothers visited their mother for one hour on Sunday afternoons, with Spears claiming: "I don’t believe she would’ve got the kids back without the conservatorship.
"They didn’t miss no time with their mother. They didn’t miss no time with their father."
“My main purpose was to get Britney back with her kids in a comfortable relationship," he continued. “And the conservatorship, like I said, gave Kevin a sense of peace and protection. The judge’s rules (which required Jamie to supervise Britney’s access time with her sons) were a great tool.
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"They allowed us to help the kids, but also to protect Britney too. Had the conservatorship not been there, she would never have got her boys back.”
As well as rebuilding a relationship with her children, Spears argued the conservatorship 'set a resource where [Britney] could get back financially' after going 'broke'.
The father argued the criticism he has faced over the decision is based on 'lies', and said he was 'being careful not to do or say anything that might affect [Britney's] mental health'.
"My number one goal is to fix my broken family and get them all on good terms again. The family’s a mess. All we can do is keep praying," he said.
Topics: Britney Spears, Music, Celebrity
Emily Brown