Why Britney Spears' Ex-Husband Kevin Federline Is Releasing a Memoir Now

Nearly two years to the day after Britney Spears released her memoir, the Princess of Pop’s ex-husband Kevin Federline is set to publish his own tell-all with the fiery title You Thought You Knew.

“Kevin spent about three or four years working on the book,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “This wasn’t an overnight thing that he threw together after Britney came out with her book. He’s never really told his side of the story in depth, and he knows interviews and documentaries can be twisted, so he wanted people to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.”

The synopsis for Federline’s 228-page memoir, which hits stores October 21, teases that the former backup dancer “peels back the layers of celebrity, fatherhood and survival to reveal the man behind the mythology.”

The source tells Us that You Thought You Knew is “primarily about Kevin’s experience as a father” to his and Spears’ two sons, Sean Preston, 19, and Jayden, 18. (Federline also shares daughter Kori, 23, and son Kaleb, 21, with ex-fiancée Shar Jackson as well as daughters Jordan, 14, and Peyton, 11, with wife Victoria Prince.)

“Kevin gave up a lot to give those boys [Preston and Jayden] a semblance of normalcy, and he’s tried to keep his other kids out of the spotlight too,” the source says. “He wanted to write the book to shed light on what his life was really like behind the scenes because so many people thought he was a deadbeat and he wasn’t. He really stepped up as a father when he needed to.”

Spears, 43, and Federline, 47, infamously went through a high-profile divorce and custody battle from 2006 to 2007, at which time the “Toxic” singer also endured a public breakdown. Although Federline ultimately won sole custody of Preston and Jayden, the boys spent much of their childhood with their mother too once she was placed under a conservatorship by her father, Jamie Spears. (A judge terminated the controversial legal arrangement in 2021, shortly after Britney accused Jamie, 73, of abusing his control of her personal and financial affairs.)

The source acknowledges that “a decent chunk” of Federline’s book is about his whirlwind relationship with Britney, from “love at first sight” to “picking up the pieces after the tumult of their divorce.” He also “reflects on the conservatorship years,” according to the source, “and how he thought it was a good thing for Britney and their family even if it was flawed in some ways.”

That said, a second insider insists to Us that Federline “doesn’t attack Britney or get too personal about her life,” instead focusing on his “decisions, feelings, overcoming challenges and trying his best to protect those around him while still navigating his life as best as he could.”

As for the timing, the second insider explains, “His sons are adults now, and it’s when he wanted to release it.”

Us Weekly has reached out to Federline’s attorney and Spears’ rep for comment.

Spears dropped her memoir, The Woman in Me, in October 2023, chronicling her rise from child stardom to global success. She also candidly looked back on her relationships with ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake and ex-husbands Jason Alexander, Federline and Sam Asghari in addition to ongoing feuds with her family over her 13-year conservatorship.

Spears’ New York Times bestseller is currently being adapted into a biopic directed by Jon M. Chu, who was previously behind Crazy Rich Asians and Wicked.