Britney Spears’ estranged father, Jamie Spears, has been hospitalized with an infection, according to multiple outlets.
Page Six was first to report on Thursday, October 5, that Jamie, 71, was receiving care for a “bad” health issue. People later confirmed that Jamie is making a recovery in an outpatient facility specializing in infectious disease.
Reps for Jamie did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment. Jamie previously struggled with his health in 2019, undergoing two emergency surgeries for a ruptured colon.
Britney, 41, has had a contentious relationship with her father since 2008, after she was placed under a conservatorship following a series of personal struggles. Before her guardianship was taken over by Jodi Montgomery, Jamie was Britney’s conservator, giving him control over her estate.
“I would honestly like to sue my family, to be totally honest with you,” Britney claimed during a court hearing in June 2021 as she fought to officially end her conservatorship. “I also would like to be able to share my story with the world, and what they did to me, instead of it being a hush-hush secret to benefit all of them. I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry. It’s insane. And I’m depressed.”
Jamie, for his part, never publicly acknowledged his daughter’s claims, but he filed paperwork in August 2021 agreeing to step down from her conservatorship team. After a lengthy legal battle, Britney’s conservatorship was terminated in November of that year.
While Britney’s relationship with her father and mother Lynne Spears has been estranged for years, the musician is “open” to reconnecting with her family, a source told Us in August. The insider explained that things have “really changed” for Britney as she works through her divorce from Sam Asghari. (Us confirmed the pair’s split on August 16 after 14 months of marriage.)
“Now that she no longer has Sam to rely on, she’s more open to possibly repairing the relationship with her mom,” the source shared. “Britney knows it would take some time and she isn’t sure their connection could ever fully recover, but she’s open to the possibility.”
However, the insider told Us Britney has “no intention” of reconciling with Jamie.
Along with taking shots at her father throughout her conservatorship hearings, Britney publicly called out her mother and sister Jamie Lynn Spears for allegedly not “doing anything” to help her.
“To me, it was like they secretly honestly liked me being the bad one — like I was messed up, and they kind of just liked it that way,” Britney said in a since-deleted YouTube video from August 2022. “Otherwise, why weren’t they outside my doorstep, saying, ‘Baby girl, get in the car. Let’s go.’ I think that’s the main thing that hurt me. I couldn’t process how my family went along with it for so long. Their only response was, ‘We didn’t know.’”
Lynne, 68, denied Britney’s sentiment in an Instagram post that same month.
“Britney, your whole life I have tried my best to support your dreams and wishes!” she wrote at the time. “And also, I have tried my best to help you out of hardships!”
While she has yet to reconcile with any of her family members, Britney is looking forward to a fresh start following her split from Asghari, 29, whom she began dating in 2016.
“This is a new chapter for Britney in more ways than one,” a source previously told Us in August, noting that Britney is “focusing on herself” and working on new music. “The songs will be about freeing herself from negativity and unhealthy people.”
