'Coleen Rooney and Britney Spears have lots in common - but with key difference'

24 October 2023 , 17:03

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Pop star Britney lost custody of her children (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

On the surface they seem worlds apart, but Britney Spears and Coleen Rooney have a lot in common.

The two women, celebrities since they were teenagers, have just spoken out in their own words for the first time; Coleen revealing how she pulled off Wagatha Christie in a three-part documentary, and Britney releasing a tell-all book.

Despite being famous for different reasons – talent/by association – they’ve faced similar pressures during their two decades in the unrelenting spotlight. However Coleen has triumphed, and comes across as a surprisingly astute, much underestimated woman of substance, while Britney is an increasingly tragic figure, isolated in her ivory tower, dancing with knives in a bikini on Instagram.

And it’s hard not to notice the factor that appears to have settled their respective fates.

One of them has always been able to rely on the unwavering support of her loving family, and the other… er, not so much.

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Britney and Coleen both came from humble beginnings, a trailer park in Louisiana and a council estate in Croxteth. But while the home videos aired on Coleen’s documentary show a loving, secure unit – mucking about with brothers Anthony and Joe, doting on late sister Rosie, boxing with dad Tony while mum Colette shouts encouragement – Britney’s dysfunctional childhood sounds the polar opposite.

'Coleen Rooney and Britney Spears have lots in common - but with key difference'

Coleen Rooney tells her Wagatha story in a new Disney+ series (Disney)

Already working on The Mickey Mouse Club by age 11, Britney has claimed her father Jamie was a “cold… reckless… abusive” alcoholic; a skint, failed businessman. She writes about her mum, Lynne, claiming she was raging over his drinking and regular disappearances, and then, confusingly, supplying Britney with alcohol at age 13.

When Coleen decided to set a trap to unmask whoever was selling stories on her, she didn’t tell a soul. She’d made her mind up, didn’t want anyone to try to talk her out of it. And she didn’t need to check that her family would have her back, because that was guaranteed, as always. That certainty clearly made her feel able to tackle anything.

Conversely, Britney details how her family reacted when she faced difficulties – post-natal depression, feeling “consumed by a cloud of darkness”, shaving her head as “a way of saying to the world: f*** you”, and attacking a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella, “a desperate move by a desperate person”.

Instead of being helped, Britney was placed under a conservatorship and lost custody of her beloved children. Her mum released a memoir. If one of her sons were struggling, Britney writes, “the last thing I would do would be… to make money off my child’s misfortune”. She says her little sister Jamie Lynn was a “total bitch”. Her father took legal control of her life, telling her: “I’m Britney Spears now”.

She wasn’t allowed to choose her own meals, take a bath in private, drive, remove her contraceptive coil or drink coffee.

Deemed incapable of looking after herself, the cash cow was still milked – sent out on tour, as an X Factor judge and booked for a four-year Las Vegas residency.

The conservatorship lasted for 13 years and has left Britney with terrible migraines. “They’re just one part of the physical and emotional damage I have now,” she writes. “I don’t think my family understands the real damage they did.” She no longer speaks to them.

The legacy of these women’s upbringings is the way the circle continues. We see Coleen lovingly laying out immaculate uniforms for her four sons, laughing about how she almost lives in her car, driving them to and from school, clubs, playdates.

Britney, heartbreakingly, and despite her best efforts, appears to be estranged from her two boys.