Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were married for three years and share two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline’s boys are all grown up.
The former couple shares two children together, sons Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden James, 15.
Growing up, Preston and Jayden often accompanied their mom on tour and visited during her Las Vegas residency. Spears regularly shared snaps with her boys at the pool, at fun outings like a chocolate factory visit and on a Hawaiian vacation. In 2021, Spears explained on Instagram, “I had my babies very young … at all the pools we went to on tours, all the babies flocked to me because I always brought the most toys 🧸🪁🪀. I really am a baby mamma 😜😜😜 !!!!”
Despite their relatively public life, a source told PEOPLE in 2019 that Preston and Jayden are “well-adjusted.”
“They are very smart and very polite. They both do well in school. They keep Britney up to date about school projects,” the source said, noting that they were a support system for Spears during the legal battles surrounding her conservatorship.
Federline and Spears co-parent their boys, which the former backup dancer admitted can be complicated. “When you are co-parenting, you have to be willing to give up some of the things you would really like to do,” he told Bravo’s Personal Space in 2017.
The exes have had several different custody arrangements since their divorce in July 2007, with Federline having majority custody for many years. After Spears’ father, Jamie Spears, was suspended as conservator of Britney’s estate, Federline’s attorney told PEOPLE that Preston and Jayden would “benefit from the removal of stress from her life so that they have their mom at her best.” At the time, a source close to the “Circus” singer said Spears hoped to “see her boys more” now that her 13-year conservatorship has ended.
“[She is] making an effort to see her kids more, and Sam is also bonding with them,” another source told PEOPLE in January 2022, mentioning Spears’ now-husband Sam Asghari. The source also said the new freedom has “been great for her” and made it “easier” to see her kids.
Thoughneither son attended Spears and Asghari’s wedding, Federline’s attorney told PEOPLE that both sons were “happy for their mom” and “hopeful that Sam and Britney are starting a great future together.”
“It’s [Spears and Asghari’s] night and they didn’t want to take away from them,” the attorney said.
During an interview with The Daily Mail in August 2022, however, Federline claimed that Preston and Jayden are choosing not to see their mother at the moment.
“The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now. It’s been a few months since they’ve seen her. They made the decision not to go to her wedding,” he said.
Federline also added that he has a hard time talking to the boys about Spears’ social media use. “‘Look, maybe that’s just another way she tries to express herself,” Federline said of how he explained the nearly nude photos Spears posts online. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact of what it does to them. It’s tough. I can’t imagine how it feels to be a teenager having to go to high school.”
Spears reacted to Federline’s interview comments in an Instagram story, writing, “It saddens me to hear that my ex-husband has decided to discuss the relationship between me and my children … As we all know, raising teenage boys is never easy for anyone. It concerns me the reason is based on my Instagram. It was LONG before Instagram.”
“I gave them everything,” she continued. “Only one word: HURTFUL.”
Though the pop star had previously shared photos of the boys when they were younger, she reiterated several times in 2021 that she “respects” her teenage sons’ wishes to mostly stay off social media, noting it’s “bittersweet to see them get older.”
“I haven’t posted pictures of them for some time cause they’re at the age where they want to express their own identities and I totally get it,” she wrote on Instagram in March 2021. “I’m extremely lucky because my two babies are such gentleman and so kind that I must have done something right 🙊 !!!!”
Keep reading to learn more about Britney Spears and Kevin Federline’s kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James.
Sean Preston Federline, 16
The Britney and Kevin: Chaotic stars wed in September 2004. The following month, the singer announced she was taking a break from her career to start a family. Spears and Federline welcomed their firstborn, Sean Preston, on Sept. 14, 2005, in Santa Monica, California.
“We are ecstatic to announce the birth of our son!” Spears wrote on her website. “Everyone is happy, healthy and doing wonderful. Thank you for all your love and well wishes!”
As for Preston’s personality, Federline told PEOPLE in 2008 that his then-toddler was “sensitive,” explaining, “His feelings get hurt real easy. He is the one that is always under my wing; he doesn’t want to go anywhere without Daddy. If his shirt gets dirty, he wants to change it. He’ll also tell you whether or not he’s going to wear an outfit you pick out for him. ‘No, I want those shoes, Dada.’ “
Preston and Jayden’s only major red carpet event was in July 2013, when they joined Spears for the L.A. premiere of Smurfs 2. After the event, their mom tweeted, “Awww! #Smurfs2 was super cute. The boys loved it.”
Preston and Jayden have also joined their mom at sporting events, including on the field at Dodger Stadium in April 2013 and meeting the Harlem Globetrotters in February 2014.
Growing up, both Preston and Jayden were into skateboarding, with Spears calling herself a “typical proud skate mom ✌.” And much like their singing mama, both boys seem to enjoy getting silly, with Spears sharing goofy shots of the trio during a break from her 2018 tour, as well as a sweet snap of quality time with Preston in Miami.
Since Preston and Jayden’s birthdays are so close together — Jayden’s birthday is September 12 — Spears usually shares one celebratory post for them both.
“My two lil men’s birthdays are this week 🥳🥳🥳 !!!!!!” she wrote in 2020 alongside a photo of the sky. “You guys are getting older and so big and are waaay cooler 🤪 than me !!!!! I love you both to the moon and back 🌙💞 … and I hope all of your bday wishes come true and more!!!!!”
Jayden James Federline, 15
Spears and Federline welcomed son Jayden James on Sept. 12, 2006. The younger Federline was born at 1:11 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.
“Everything is great,” Jamie Spears told Access Hollywood after Jayden was born. Two months later, however, Spears filed for divorce after three years of marriage. Federline opened up to PEOPLE about his and Spears’ parenting relationship in December 2008, a year and a half after their divorce was finalized.
“The first couple years of their life they were all over the place,” he said. “My main thing for my kids is that they get to live life the way — or as close to the way — that most people do. It’s going to be hard not to spoil them, but I don’t want to.”
Federline also admitted that having kids was a huge adjustment in their marriage. “It’s hard enough to be in a marriage, and then have a kid, then kids, it changes everything” he said. “For me, I’d become more concerned with my children. Not that I ignored Britney, but my kids are always most important.”
Federline explained that he fought for full custody because he felt he could provide a more stable environment. “A reason why we ended up going through the custody battle is because I want my kids to have a mom and love her. I don’t want to do this by myself,” he said. “Part of the whole thing was to get them safe and get her to where she will always be there. Because there are points in time where the whole world didn’t know whether she would be around for them.”
Federline also shared that then-2-year-old Jayden was “a little terror.” He explained, “If Preston is picking on him — well, usually it’s not Preston that’s picking on him — he’ll just go and terrorize the whole house. For no reason at all.”
Spears has been inspired by her little men as the boys grew up. In July 2017, she shared photos of Preston and Jayden in cowboy hats, writing, “I took these photos of my children before my trip this summer … looking back at the photos I’ve taken of them, it brings me to my knees everyday to see how blessed I am to have such amazing and inspiring kids!!!!!”
The singer has also shared photos of her boys together, like their trip to Disneyland in August 2019.
“Great time at Disneyland today,” she wrote. “My boys are older now, so they don’t like their picture taken ever … so I was thrilled today when they said SURE !!!!! Such a great place !!!!!”
Jayden seems to have inherited his mom’s gift for music. In a since-deleted March 2022 Instagram post, Spears called both of her boys “geniuses.” “His gift scares me,” she said of Jayden. “[He] can play jazz and literally anything on the piano … We watched Green Book and he sat down and immediately started playing the blues.” Spears also encourages her sons to explore other art forms, and has posted about painting outdoors with her boys.
In March 2020, Jayden posted a surprising tell-all Instagram Live video where he spoke about topics like his mother’s return to music.
A source told PEOPLE that Spears hadn’t seen the viral video at the time. They also confirmed that Jayden and Preston spend time with her, but had been primarily living with Federline. “They have very busy schedules like most kids their age. They have school, homework and after-school activities,” the source said. “They live with Kevin, his wife and kids. The boys are fun and sweet.”