‘I don’t know if she’d be alive’: Britney Spears’ dad defends conservatorship

Britney Spears’ father has reportedly said he doesn’t know if his daughter would be alive without the controversial conservatorship she was under for more than a decade as he broke his silence about the issue.

Jamie Spears, whose role as her conservator ended last year, has defended the 13-year guardianship over the Toxic hitmaker’s personal life and multimillion dollar estate in an exclusive interview with British tabloid The Mail on Sunday.

The guardianship was put in place after the starlet had a mental health breakdown in 2007. 

In the interview, Spears defended the conservatorship, saying it was a necessary intervention which not only saved the star from her “darkest days” but also her relationship with her sons.

Things between Britney and her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James took a turn for the worse earlier this year after the duo featured in their father, Kevin Federline’s, exclusive interview that focused on the teens’ strained relationship with their mother.

“Not everybody is going to agree with me. It’s been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul. Where would Britney be now without that conservatorship? I don’t know if she'd be alive. I don’t.

“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,” The Mail on Sunday is quoted as saying.

While Spears is yet to comment on this latest interview, she has made her feelings towards her family clear in the past.

Last November Spears went on a tirade against her parents, accusing Lynne Spears of giving her father “the idea” to call for the conservatorship 13 years ago.

According to the Daily Mail, the singer shared a lengthy post on Instagram detailing Lynne’s role in the saga and claiming her mother “secretly ruined my life”.

The singer vowed to “out” Lynne and her former business manager Lou Taylor on the issue, and told her mom to take her attitude and “go f**k yourself”. The post was later deleted, according to the news site.

It came a week after Spears posted a lengthy message targeting her family “for hurting me deeper than you’ll ever know”.

- Additional reporting by Reuters