Britney Spears’ Sons ‘Want Their Mom in Their Lives’: Inside Their Reunion

In a candid Instagram post Britney Spears shared on August 24, the singer opened up about the toll of being temporarily estranged from her kids, Sean Preston, 19, and Jayden James, 18. “The hardest years of my life were my two sons gone for those 3 years. I was cut off from calling or texting … my secret to survival was denial and a lot of tears,” the pop icon said, noting that her short-lived marriage to Sam Asghari “almost felt like a fake distraction to help me deal with it.”

Over the last few months, Spears, 43, has been slowly rebuilding her relationships with Preston and Jayden. The boys moved to Hawaii with their father, Kevin Federline, in August 2023. As Us Weekly previously reported, Jayden reached out to his mom in late 2024 after years of barely speaking to her. A source tells Us he stayed at Spears’ L.A. home between January and April, during which time they made serious strides. (He’s currently living back in L.A., splitting his time between his mom’s and a friend’s house.)

Now, the source says Spears and her sons are “healing together,” adding, “the boys are maturing and they want their mom in their lives, and Britney is really happy about that. She’s so grateful to have them in her life. She feels whole again.” Adds a second source: “They’ve turned the page when it comes to their relationship.”

There was obvious tension between Spears and her sons when they declined to attend her wedding to Asghari in June 2022. Jayden spoke with the Daily Mail for an interview that aired on ITV shortly after, saying that while they were happy for their mom, “it just wasn’t a good time to go,” noting that she had ignored Preston’s request not to post photos of him and that he was “hoping” she would stop sharing attention-grabbing content. In response, Spears penned a later-deleted Instagram post saying she was “deeply” saddened to learn she “wasn’t up to” Jayden’s “expectations of a mother.”

By that June, however, there were signs of improvement, with Federline’s lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan revealing the boys had called their mom for Mother’s Day from Hawaii and that “the phone call was a good sign and a step in the right direction.”

Jayden has been leading the charge to reconnect. “He always knew they’d find their way back to each other eventually, but he’s grateful that it happened sooner than later,” says a third source. “Britney and Jayden have had a close bond since he was very young, so slowly getting into their old groove has felt special and [healing for] both of them.”

While bunking with Spears, they spent a lot of quality time at her
$7 million Thousand Oaks, California, mansion. “Britney and Jayden watched movies, cooked, worked on music together and played board games,” says the first source. In June, she shared a sweet clip to Instagram of Jayden driving while she filmed him and put her fingers through his hair. “Even with their rocky past, it wasn’t awkward,” adds the third source. “They fell right into the swing of things like the old days.”

Preston is moving at a more measured pace. The first source says he visited L.A. twice while Jayden was there. “[He and Britney are] slowly building more trust. Britney respects his wishes and is being very thoughtful of his [feelings],” says the source, adding, “they’re focusing on communication without judgment of one another. Britney’s really listening now… Rather than playing her old-school parental role, she’s humbling herself. What’s most important is for them to have a healthy relationship.”

He and his younger brother have “processed” their past experiences with their mom differently, explains the source. “They’ve both been through different challenges with Britney. Jayden’s healing process is a little further along than Preston’s.” Adds the third source: “He still has mixed feelings, but seeing Jayden reunite with Britney has given him hope for their own future.”

The first source says Preston has been more open about expressing his opinions to Spears. “Preston has forgiven Britney for her more risqué social media photos, and he made it clear to her that he wanted it to stop,” explains the source. (On August 28, she posted a photo of her nude backside with a rose emoji covering part of her butt; on September 1, she shared a video in which she dances to Cardi B wearing a sheer bodysuit with a flower emoji covering her nipples.) It’s a work in progress. “Preston and Jayden struggled with finding calm [around Britney],” adds the source, “so she’s been changing her behavior and tone with them.”

Jayden is doing what he can to help his brother mend fences with their mom. “Jayden knows Preston’s relationship with [Britney] has been more touch-and-go, so he tries to support Preston however he can — even if it’s by doing something as simple as getting them on the phone [together],” says the third source. The second source says Jayden has been “influential” in Preston making more of an effort to reconnect with Spears over the last six months and “reassured him” that repairing their bond was a good idea.

Spears is grateful to be given a second chance with the boys. “Rebuilding her relationship with her sons is her biggest priority right now,” says the second source, adding that she “lights up” when she talks about her kids. “[Jayden and Preston] both still have hesitations, but it has gotten better after spending time with her.” Adds the first source, “The boys know Britney loves them so much, and [that they’re] the first thing she thinks about in the morning and the last thing she thinks about at night.”

Like many parents and their teens, Spears and her sons aren’t in constant communication. Jayden and Spears speak every few days; Preston talks to her two or three times a month, says the first source. “Britney reaches out to Preston more than he reaches out to her. [But] they all initiate contact whenever they want. They communicate over the phone, FaceTime and text.”

Despite their complicated history with their mom — and a childhood spent in the public eye — the boys are well-adjusted. “Considering they’re the sons of one of the most famous people in the world, Preston and Jayden are pretty normal. They don’t hang out with other celebrity kids and never craved the spotlight,” says the third source. The first source notes the siblings are “best friends, and are always making sure the other is OK,” and that Federline, 47, “wants the boys to have a relationship” with Spears.

The exes “communicate only when it’s concerning the boys,” adds the first source, who notes that Spears and Federline are both very supportive of all of their kids’ aspirations. Like their mom, both Jayden and Preston are musically-inclined; Jayden is a pianist and produces music — Spears called him a “genius” in a March Instagram post featuring him playing the piano — and Preston is also a musician who’s interested in show production, though the first source says it’s “not his main focus.”

In early August, Spears (who was last romantically linked to her former housekeeper Paul Richard Soliz) said she’s working on two fiction novels in an Instagram post. (A source told Us late last year that the pop star, who released her memoir The Woman in Me in 2023, isn’t in a rush to do anything work-wise.) A fourth source says she’s focused on her new jewelry line, B Tiny, and a new perfume after signing a fragrance deal with the company Give Back Beauty last year.

The first source says she’s eyeing an eventual move. “Britney sometimes wants to go back to Louisiana to get away from the scrutiny and just be herself and have a place where the boys can also feel safe. There’s a lot of negativity she has to deal with in L.A., and she needs to escape the memories sometimes for her mental health.” If she stays in the city, the source says Spears would still be looking for a change of scenery. “There’s a lot of bad memories in her house, and she’s thinking about moving to another home in L.A. It’s almost like a chapter closing kind of move.”

The second source says Spears still has ups and downs. “Britney’s been in a good headspace, but every day is different. She has hard days when she thinks of her past and all the trauma she’s been through and does get lonely.” Spears has been spending a lot of time in Mexico (in an August 6 Instagram post, she said she’s been “back and forth” between Miami and Mexico). “It’s her happy place,” the second source says, explaining that the singer sees Mexico as a second home. “She feels she can go there and be free. It has brought her a lot of healing.”

Connecting with Preston and Jayden has been a huge boost. “It’s given her a new sense of purpose,” the second source says, adding that Spears’ friends notice how much calmer and more grounded she seems. (She noted in her since-deleted August 24 Instagram post that her appetite has returned: “I know I’m healing because I’m hungry again like a child or baby,” she wrote.)

Adds the third source: “Preston and Jayden do feel concerned about their mom at times. They’re aware of her struggles both past and present, and they want the best for her and know that having a relationship with her will help matters. She’s much happier with them in her life. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

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