Following months of speculation and denials, Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline have filed for divorce, according to court officials in Los Angeles. Court documents, which state the day of separation as 6 Nov, cite "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for terminating the marriage.
Spears will seek custody of their two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James. Her petition asks that each party pay their own legal fees, but does not request spousal support, which is probably not that surprising, as she is, after all, worth around $123million. The singer also requests ownership of various assets including "miscellaneous jewellery and other personal effects", and asks that earnings from after the date of separation are confirmed as separate from her husband's property. Reports are calling the pair's prenuptial agreement 'ironclad'.
Sources claim that there was no single reason for the separation, but that it was a "series of events" that led Spears to file for divorce. The news does, however, follow reports that Britney was recently forced to flee her home after Federline flew into a jealous rage. Sources say that the alleged outburst happened in response to comments Spears made about her husband's recent appearance on the WWE Wrestling show. One is quoted as saying: "Britney's laughing set Kevin off and he went wild. It was like he had weeks of pent up hostility in him, and all it took was one little comment to light the powder keg. He started screaming at her, smashing things and hitting the walls. Britney's seen him crazy, but she's never seen him like this and she's never been so fearful for her physical safety. He's gotten violent and it's getting worse with each temper tantrum. He hasn't hit Britney or the kids, but after seeing the rage he's carrying around it could happen next."
Elsewhere in Britney news - actually, this rather pales into insignificance given the dramatic divorce disclosure, but anyway - a US judge has dismissed a case brought by Britney Spears and her soon-to-be-ex against Us Weekly magazine for running that previously reported story which claimed that the couple had made a sex video. Judge Lisa Hart Cole said there was no basis for the pair's contention that the report was defamatory.
You may remember that the article alleged that Spears and Federline had been forced to watch the video with their lawyers after a member of their entourage threatened to release the footage, and that Britney had behaved in a 'goofy' manner on that occasion. But the couple denied the existence of such a video, and Spears' legal team argued in their suit that the news item was libellous because it "maliciously and recklessly portrays [Spears] as acting 'goofy' while watching the video with the lawyers". They sought $10millon damages.
However, the judge stated that because Spears had "put her modern sexuality squarely, and profitably, before the public eye", the article could not be considered defamatory. Dismissing the notion that the action was brought because the singer was "falsely accused of acting goofy", Cole judged that "the issue is whether it is defamatory to state that a husband and wife taped themselves engaging in consensual sex".
And apparently, it's not.