Britney Spears’ father has said the conservatorship she was in for 13 years saved her life.
“Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? I don’t know if she’d be alive. I don’t,” Jamie Spears reportedly told Daphne Barak for an article published by The Mail on Sunday. “For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool. Without it, I don't think she would have got the kids back.”
Jamie, 70, said he knows “not everybody's going to agree with me” and “most people don’t have a clue what the truth is” but insists he did the right thing. “It’s been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul.”
According to Barak, Jamie lives with Britney’s younger sister Jamie Lynn in rural Louisiana but has no contact with the pop star or her teenaged sons Preston and Jayden.
“I miss my two boys really, really bad,” Jamie said of his grandsons. “You know, we were very, very close. They were around that age where you could start having a good time with them. But they were developing a mind of their own.
“Things happen for a reason. I don't know what that reason is but it's been a tough three years without them. The family's a mess."
Britney Spears: iHeartRadio.ca Music News Coverage
Britney was placed under a temporary conservatorship on Feb. 1, 2008 after she suffered a mental health breakdown. The conservatorship was made permanent on Oct. 7, 2008.
According to Jamie, Britney was “broke” when she was placed in the conservatorship. “She had no money whatsoever. The conservatorship set a resource where she could get back financially. And, you know, we worked – and she worked – and she got herself straight up financially.”
Even as fans around the world pleaded for her freedom, Britney did not formally seek to terminate the conservatorship until Sept. 22, 2021.
She told the judge: “My dad and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said no — ma’am, they should be in jail.”
The conservatorship was terminated on Nov. 12, 2021 after 5,034 days.
Since getting her freedom back, Britney has used social media to attack family members. “They literally killed me. They threw me away,” she claimed in audio clips she uploaded to YouTube and later deleted. “I felt like my family threw me away.”
Jamie told Barak he has no regrets about stepping in to take care of his daughter.
“My understanding of a conservatorship is to help someone regain their life and return back to society, and to be able to live normally,” he said. “I want to say that I made a difference. There were a few people behind me that really helped bring it to a point where we could help her.”