Jamie Spears' turbulent life from alcohol battle to controlling conservatorship
Jamie Spears has been surrounded by controversy over the years after his daughter Britney Spears hit out at the "traumatising" conservatorship he placed her under.
The Princess of Pop, 42, fought for her freedom after being placed under what she has described as an "abusive" conservatorship which gave her dad control over every aspect of her life, including restricting her spending to deciding what visitors she could have. Britney has not spoken to her dad since she was given her freedom in 2021.
Despite their rocky relationship, there are reports that Britney is thinking of reconciling with her 71-year-old dad after he had his leg amputated after being rushed to hospital with a "severe infection". Amid all of the reports, we've taken a look back at Jamie Spears' life.
Death of mother and brother
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Jamie Spears had a tough upbringing (AFP via Getty Images)
His mother died when he was just 13 years old (AFP via Getty Images)Jamie was first met with tragedy when he was just four years old. In 1957, his three-day-old brother Austin Spears sadly died. Jamie's mother Emma Jean Forbes Spears was devastated by the death.
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Nine years later, when Jamie was 13, Emma fatally shot herself at the age of 31 while standing on Austin's grave. Jamie’s father, June Austin Spears, remarried just eight months later.
Britney said she believes the "trauma" her father experienced as a child impacted the way he treated her. Writing in her memoir The Woman In Me, the singer said: "I know that trauma is part of why my father was how he was with my siblings and me. Why, for him, nothing was ever good enough."
Abusive father
Jamie's father was abusive toward him (REX/Shutterstock)
His dad would make 'unreasonable demands' (REX/Shutterstock)Britney opened up about her paternal grandfather in her memoir and explained: "My father was raised by an abusive father who made unreasonable demands of his son in all aspects of his life." She claimed her dad "was forced to practice sports for hours at a time", often past the point of exhaustion. The Zoey 101 star said her dad would be made to shoot one hundred shots during his basketball practice.
Britney also described June as a "viscous" man. She added: "As far as I can tell, no one has one good word to say about the first 50 years of his life."
In her memoir, the singer claimed June was not only abusive to his kids but also to his wife Emma. Britney alleged that June forced her grandmother into a "horrible asylum" where she was involuntarily given lithium.
Fatal car crash
Jamie turned to alcohol to help him (Chris Farina/Corbis via Getty Images)Four years after the death of his mother, Jamie suffered another tragedy when he was involved in a horrific car crash. The accident resulted in the death of one of his closest friends.
Jamie struggled with the accident. Alongside his friend's death and turbulent home life, he turned to alcohol to try and cope.
Alcohol struggles
He drank a lot during Britney's childhood (REX/Shutterstock)
His daughter has been open about Jamie's drinking (FilmMagic)In his early 20s, Jamie turned to drugs and alcohol. According to the New York Times, he was arrested at the age of 22 for drug and driving while intoxicated charges.
At the time, Jamie was married to his sweetheart Debbie Sanders Cross. However, soon after his arrest, the couple divorced. He later met his second wife Lynne Spears and the pair welcomed their first child together, a son named Bryan, in 1977.
Unfortunately, Jamie's drinking only got worse when he became a dad. "Jamie always enjoyed a beer here and there, but he didn’t start drinking heavily until after Bryan was born," Lynne explained in her memoir Through the Storm.
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In 1980, Lynne filed for divorce. Recalling that time, she said: "[We tried to] maintain Jamie’s drinking at a reasonable level. We worked harder at controlling his alcohol consumption than we did maintaining our marriage."
The pair eventually reconciled and Lynne gave birth to daughter Britney in 1981. They welcomed their third child, daughter Jamie Lynn, in 1991. However, the family was struggling financially and seven years later they filed for bankruptcy.
In her memoir, Britney said he dad would "drink until he couldn't think". She also recalled him disappearing from home for several days and turning "really mean" when he was drunk.
"The stress of not having any money was compounded by the chaos caused by Dad's extreme mood swings. I was usually scared in my home," she admitted.
Britney's controversial conservatorship
Britney was placed under a conservatorship by her dadBritney's conservatorship has been focused on a lot in the press, with details of the legal guardianship being the focus of many documentaries. During the conservatorship, Britney wasn't allowed to make decisions on her spending and she was given an allowance by her team.
The singer's former head of wardrobe Tish Yates spoke out about the situation in the documentary Toxic: Britney Spears' Battle For Freedom. She said she had to wait for approval from Britney's former business manager Robin Greenhill before she could speak to the star about money.
"Britney would say, 'Hey, is there any way we can have sushi for dinner?' I would hear Robin say, 'You had sushi yesterday, it's too expensive, you don't need it again'," Tish said. She added: "If she pushed back a little bit, they pushed harder, and then the yelling got louder. Then Jamie would come up and say, 'No, you’re not having this'. Then it would escalate to not having a voice."
Britney's phone was also allegedly monitored during her conservatorship. It's claimed a security team monitored the singer's messages, FaceTime and iPhone activity through an iPad with the same iCloud account and tried to set "parental controls" on her phone.
Amputation
Jamie has had to have his leg amputated (REX/Shutterstock)Jamie was admitted to hospital back in October after falling ill with a "bad infection". At the time, a source revealed he required surgery and had to spend weeks in a special infectious disease facility.
A source has now said Jamie had a "massive infection" in one of his legs. They said he had five unsuccessful surgeries to try and contain the infection, with doctors deciding the only way for them to proceed was amputation.
Speaking to TMZ, the source said Jamie "is not doing well". They added: "He's had other ailments and has been downcast amid the torrent of criticism over his handling of the conservatorship."
For emotional support in the UK you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website. Or in the US if you are in crisis or feel suicidal and need someone to talk to, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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