When Britney Spears checked in to rehab on Sunday, the pop star was said to be doing so ‘voluntarily.’
It was for her family, however, about time – and came only after significant pressure from her inner circle, the Daily Mail has learned.
‘She was dragging her feet. Saying that she’d go but then not really taking any actual steps to do anything,’ an insider said.
‘Everyone was telling her that she needed to do something, as encouraging as we could possibly be. Nothing.’
Indeed, her March 4 arrest seemed to be a wake-up call. Spears, 44, was arrested on suspicion of a DUI in Ventura County, California, where officers said the singer, who had been weaving in and out of lanes on Highway 101, appeared to be ‘driving under the influence of a combination of drugs and alcohol.’
At the time, a representative for Spears called the incident ‘completely inexcusable,’ and said she was ‘going to take the right steps and comply with the law, and hopefully this can be the first step in the long-overdue changes that need to occur in her life.’
It came just months after the singer was spotted driving erratically – accelerating sharply, tailgating other cars and swerving into the wrong lane – after a night out at the upscale Thousand Oaks eatery Red-O in October. And earlier this year, it emerged that Spears had reportedly fired her sobriety coaches.
Spears’ recent behavior had sparked concern about her well-being, as loved ones feared she was in ‘danger,’ though there was ‘nothing’ anyone could do to help.
Now, however, our source said that intervention from her sons, Sean Preston Federline, 20, and Jayden James Federline, 19, is what forced her to check into a treatment facility for 30 days.
‘The boys started to get involved. They’re the only ones she listens to, and they were so loving, so kind, but also so firm. This was non-negotiable to them,’ the insider said.
‘She needed to get help and they told her that they wouldn’t take no for an answer.’
The source added, ‘So she didn’t fight them, but she dragged her feet. She will do this for them: she wants to please them.’
Indeed, in her tell-all 2023 memoir, The Woman In Me, Spears said she only agreed to her 13-year conservatorship – which ended in 2021 – in exchange for time with her sons.
Federline was granted sole custody of their sons in 2008 a year after they divorced, and in 2023 he moved the boys to Hawaii. Though, in recent years, they appear to be spending more time with their famous mom.
Last month, Spears shared a snap with her sons aboard a yacht and, in the wake of her arrest, a representative for Spears told the Daily Mail that the boys would be ‘spending time with her.’
The Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Spears for comment.
A source also previously told the Daily Mail that Spears was sober and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, though that wouldn’t be the first time for the star. According to her memoir, she attended meetings four times a week while she was in her conservatorship.
But, according to our insider, Spears going to rehab was key for her sons – said to be ‘mature beyond their years’ – who gave her an ultimatum.
‘It was like, “Mom you have to go if you want us coming around,” and that was all the incentive she needed,’ our insider said.
‘She wants a relationship with them, which would have been jeopardized if she didn’t go,’ they added. ‘So she made the right move and they say she seems happy about it.’
