The Guardian (USA)

Britney Spears is pregnant with third child, Instagram post suggests

- Dani Anguiano and agencies

Britney Spears has apparently revealed she is pregnant with her third child, months after she was released from a conservato­rship that she said prevented her from marrying and having additional children.

The Toxic singer shared the news in a post on Instagram on Monday, saying she had taken a pregnancy test after her partner, Sam Asghari, had teased her about being “food pregnant”.

Spears had previously shared that she “wants a family” with the fitness model, 28.

In November, the 40-year-old star regained her independen­ce when a judge released her from a conservato­rship arrangemen­t that dominated her daily life for nearly 14 years. During court hearings leading up to the decision, Spears alleged that she was required to remain on birth control against her wishes. “I want to be able to get married and have a baby,” she told the court last year. “I was told right now in the conservato­rship I am not able to get married or have a baby.”

She also told the court she was forced to take medicines and perform against her will under the conservato­rship, which her father controlled for years. The judge’s decision to terminate the arrangemen­t was a remarkable victory for the singer, who fought against the conservato­rship for years, and meant she would no longer have to pay attorneys and a team of profession­als to manage her estate and affairs.

Spears’s case launched a movement, sparking protests across the world and scrutiny over the role of conservato­rships in the US. This year she was invited to Congress to discuss her conservato­rship battle.

Spears and Asghari became engaged in September last year, days after her father filed a request to end the conservato­rship. The singer had told the court that she wanted to marry Asghari, who she met in 2016, but that under the conservato­rship she wasn’t even allowed to drive with him. Spears joked in September that the proposal was “way overdue”.

Announcing the news of her pregnancy on Instagram, Spears wrote: “I lost so much weight to go on my Maui trip only to gain it back … I thought ‘Geez … what happened to my stomach ???’ My husband said ‘No you’re food pregnant silly!’

“So I got a pregnancy test … and uhhhhh well … I am having a baby… 4 days later I got a little more food pregnant. It’s growing.”

Spears referred to Asghari as her husband, but it was not immediatel­y clear if they had married.

The pop superstar, who said she experience­d depression when she was previously pregnant, said she “won’t be going out much” following her announceme­nt, in order to avoid media attention. Paparazzi have relentless­ly hounded and stalked Spears over the course of her career, including during past pregnancie­s and while she carried her infant children in her arms.

Spears has two children, Sean and Jayden, whom she shares with her exhusband, Kevin Federline.

 ?? ?? Britney Spears with her fiance, Sam Asghari. Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Britney Spears with her fiance, Sam Asghari. Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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