Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Spears family reunited at last after years of very public feuding

They are the very picture of a happy family - perched on the kerbside they chat and laugh as they admire the latest addition to the family.

But just months ago this scene would have been unimaginable. Back then Britney Spears was estranged from her mother Lynne and younger sister Jamie Lynn.

But there was no hint of the horrors of the past year as the teen idol celebrated her two sons' birthdays yesterday with a family reunion.
Britney Spear

Together again: After years of acrimony, Britney and her mother share a tender moment with Jamie Lynn's daughter Maddie Briann on the curbside outside Britney's LA home yesterday

She spent a relaxed day with her mother Lynne, father Jamie, 17-year-old sister Jamie Lynn and her three-month-old daughter Maddie Briann.

Jamie Lynn had flown in from her home in Louisiana to Los Angeles to celebrate the birthdays of Britney's sons, which are only two days apart.

Sean Preston turned three on September 14 and Jayden was two on September 12. It is not clear if their father Kevin Federline, from whom Britney is divorced, was present at the party.

Britney Spear

Hands on: The Spears women reconnect with each other after a year of strife

Looking at the family portrait it seems incredible to think that in June last year the 26-year-old served her mother with a restraining order to stop her having any contact with her grandsons.

Then in January, in an image that shocked her fans, she was pictured sobbing uncontrollably on a kerb at the side of the road with only her puppy for comfort.
Britney Spear

Changing faces of Britney: The pop star has fought back from the depths of despair of last year and is on the road to recovery

Britney then suffered a very public meltdown, shaving her head and losing custody of her sons to her ex-husband in February.

Her increasingly erratic behaviour led to her being taken into psychiatric care under a mental health order. A judge made her parents her guardians, giving them control of her money to stop her being taken advantage of by hangers on.

Since emerging from the mental health unit in the spring Britney has remained at home in LA with her father Jamie, getting her life back together.

Having been virtually estranged from her parents, Britney is now described as being 'incredibly close' to them again. This represents a major turnaround, since at the height of her troubles Britney publicly blamed her woes on her father.
Britney Spear

What a cutie: Grandad Jamie Spears plays with granddaughter Maddie Briann as Jamie Lynn looks on

Now, Jamie says: 'We've grown a lot. I've been able to come back into my daughter's life, and that was an adjustment anyway, because I'm an alcoholic and it's the first time we've really been able to share.

'It's wonderful. It's new for both of us. She sometimes calls me 50 times a day and asks me things that light my life up. But, like all daughters, she is very cunning. So she gets what she wants a lot.'

And Britney, who found out about her then 16-year-old sister's pregnancy from a paparazzi, is once again close to Jamie Lynn.

After months of not speaking the pop star attended her sister's baby shower, marking the beginning of a new relationship for the two.
Britney Spear

Tricky period: Britney served her mother with legal papers on the set of her sister TV show Zoey 101 in Valencia, California in June 2007


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