When Britney Spears faced off in court against her own father, Jamie Spears, it seemed that the entire globe was swept up in the legal battle.

Britney, now 42, was fighting be freed from what she described as an ‘abusive’ and ‘traumatizing’ conservatorship that had ripped her ‘life’ away from her – while Jamie insisted that it was vital to keeping her safe.

Perhaps it was the fact that Britney had endured it all for over a decade in secret. Or maybe it was that her millions of fans felt a guilty for not noticing that something was wrong sooner – but either way, the ugly courtroom showdown was one of the most publicized events at the time, and the singer’s horrific claims about her father during the case left many people wondering: Who really is Jamie?

The inquiry has now come back into many people’s minds amid rumors that the now-71-year-old’s health has severely declined in recent months.

As rumors swirl that Britney Spears’ dad, Jamie Spears’ health is declining, FEMAIL recapped his journey – from his alcoholism to his legal battle with Britney over her conservatorship

News hit the web this week that Jamie had to have his leg amputated after he suffered from a serious infection in his knee.

Amid Jamie’s latest health woes, FEMAIL went ahead and recapped his story from start to finish – from his own horrific upbringing and how his heavy drinking left Britney living in fear as a child to how he came to control her conservatorship despite being absent for most of her rise to fame.

The father-of-three had a traumatic childhood marred by abuse from his own father and the horrific death of his infant brother – which lead to his mom shooting herself in the head when he was only 13 years old.

And his dark past lead to him turning to alcohol in adulthood. In her memoir, Britney described him as ‘mean, apathetic, and cold,’ and recalled being ‘scared in her home’ as a kid.

Jamie had very little part in her becoming a star, in fact, he was hardly around during the early years of her career.

He stayed behind while Britney and her mom traveled for auditions and roles – but when Britney began to crumble under the growing pressure in the early 2000s, he was quick to rush to her side, and filed for an emergency conservatorship.

Jamie’s petition was granted and he was assigned as the leader by a judge, despite his strained relationship with the star and his past issues with alcoholism.

The conservatorship lasted for 13 years, all the while, Britney dropped hit after hit, performed show after show, and attended event after event, always with a smile on her face.

The #FreeBritney movement and her ugly courtroom showdown against her dad captured the nation and left many people wondering: Who really is Jamie?

From the outside, it looked like she was more successful and happier than ever – but behind-the-scenes, the world would later learn that she was desperate to break free of her father’s control.

It wasn’t until Britney suddenly canceled her Las Vegas residency and announced an indefinite hiatus from performing in 2019 that fans began to suspect something was wrong.

Soon began the #FreeBritney movement – which took over social media and lead to thousands of her fans dissecting her every move since the conservatorship had begun.

Months later, Britney’s court battle against her dad began, and as the legal fight ensued, details of what Britney – who still had not spoken about the situation publicly – had allegedly gone through under her father’s care were finally brought to light.

In an explosive testimony, she claimed the conservatorship controlled everything from what medication she had to take to what color she could paint her cabinets.  She also alleged that she had to use an IUD and was forced to go to a treatment center against her will.

As speculation arises about Jamie’s health, here is a complete breakdown of his life, his relationship with Britney, everything she said about him during the trial – and what he’s been up to since the conservatorship came to an end.

Traumatic upbringing: Jamie’s childhood marred by abuse from his own father and the horrific death of his infant brother – which lead to his mom shooting herself in the head when he was only 13 years old

Jamie had a traumatic childhood that was marred by abuse from his own father (seen) and the death of his infant brother – which lead to his mom shooting herself in the head when he was 13

Jamie had a traumatic childhood that was marred by abuse from his own father and the horrific death of his infant brother – which ultimately lead to his mom shooting herself in the head when he was only 13 years old.

Britney opened up about her dad’s harrowing upbringing in her memoir, The Woman In Me, and she said she believes the ‘trauma’ that he was put through as a child impacted the way that he treated her and her siblings.

‘I know that trauma is part of why my father was how he was with my siblings and me,’ she wrote. ‘Why, for him, nothing was ever good enough.’

In the tome, Britney described her paternal grandfather, June Spears Sr., as a ‘viscous’ man who fathered 10 children from three different wives.

She explained that when her dad was young, ‘sports fanatic’ June would force him to practice basketball for hours on end, even if he was ‘exhausted.’

‘A sports fanatic, June made my father exercise long past exhaustion,’ she wrote.  ‘Each day, when my father finished basketball practice, no matter how tired and hungry he was, he still had to shoot 100 more baskets before he could come inside.

‘As far as I can tell, no one has one good word to say about the first 50 years of his life.

Britney has said that she believes the ‘trauma’ that he was put through as a child impacted the way that he treated her. She’s seen with her dad, grandfather, and the rest of her family

‘Even in my family, it was said that the Spears men tend to be bad news, especially in terms of how they treated women.’

She also claimed in her memoir that June sexually assaulted one of his daughters starting when she was only 11, until she eventually ‘ran away’ at age 16.

‘One of my father’s half sisters has said that June sexually abused her starting when she was 11, until she ran away at sixteen,’ Britney said.

Back in 2022, Britney’s aunt Leigh Ann Spears Wrather spoke out about being molested by June during an interview with New York Magazine.

In her tome, Britney said that her ‘viscous’ grandpa, June Spears Sr., ‘abused’ his kids and his wife, Emma Jean Spears (seen), before she tragically took her own life at age 31

She claimed he would make her perform sex acts on him while they were on the way home from church, where he worked part time as the Deacon.

Britney wrote in her book that June was not only ‘abusive’ to his kids but also to his wife and Britney’s grandma, Emma Jean Spears.

She recalled how her grandma, who went by Jean, struggled to cope with the death of Jamie’s younger brother, who died when he was only three days old.

Britney claimed that June forced her grandmother into a ‘horrible asylum’ – where she was involuntarily put on the drug lithium.

Jean ultimately died by suicide in 1966 – when Jamie was 13 – when she shot herself in the head at the cemetery where her baby boy had been buried.

Losing his mother at such a young age unsurprisingly had a large effect on Jamie, with a friend of the family’s previously telling the New York Post, ‘That death had a big impact in that family. It took a big toll on Jamie.’

Four years later, Jamie suffered from another tragedy when he was involved in a horrific car accident that resulted in the death of one of his close friends.

Turning to alcohol to cope: Jamie struggled with alcoholism during Britney’s childhood, with the singer later describing him as ‘mean, apathetic, and cold’ and recalling being ‘scared in her home’ as a kid

Jamie married Britney’s mom, Lynne, in 1976 but they briefly split in 1980 due to his drinking problems. They reconciled and welcomed Britney (seen with them as a kid) in 1981

Thanks to his father’s obsession with sports, Jamie became the quarterback of his high school’s football team.

He got married to his first wife, a woman named Debbie Sanders Cross, soon after he graduated.

On track to become a sports star and with his new wife by his side, it seemed that Jamie had it made – but his dark past ultimately caught up with him and his life began to fall apart.

In his early 20s, Jamie began using drugs and alcohol, and he was arrested at age 22 for drug and driving while intoxicated charges, per the the New York Times. Soon after, he and Debbie divorced.

He then started dating Lynne. In her memoir, Through the Storm, she described Jamie as ‘local boy who was always around’ and a ‘quintessential small-town jock hero’ who was ‘good-looking and popular.’

They walked down the aisle in July of 1976, and welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Bryan, a year later in 1977 – but Jamie’s love of partying only worsened after he became a father.

‘Jamie always enjoyed a beer here and there, but he didn’t start drinking heavily until after Bryan was born,’ Lynne explained.

After four years together, Lynne filed for a divorce in 1980. At the time, she also requested a temporary restraining order, writing in court docs obtained by the Times that she was terrified Jamie would ‘become angry when’ he was served with the divorce papers and hurt her – ‘especially if he has been drinking alcoholic beverages, as he has done in the past.’

In her tome, Lynne recalled of that time, ‘[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.

Britney spoke out about how her dad’s alcoholism impacted her childhood in her memoir, and she said he would get ‘mean when he drank’ and recalled being ‘scared in her home’ as a kid

‘With every alcohol-soaked episode, our perfect little life began to unstitch, and the knot we had tied with our vows and our love started to work loose, thread by painful thread.’

Even so, the two eventually reconciled and Lynne gave birth to their second child, Britney, in 1981.

During the early years of their marriage, Jamie, who had put his dreams of being a football pro on the back burner, worked as a construction worker while Lynne ran a daycare.

In the ’80s, he and Lynne decided to build their own health and wellness spa together in Kentwood, Louisiana, where they resided.

He also opened a gym and a seafood restaurant, called Granny’s, throughout the early years of Britney’s childhood, while Lynne focused on running the spa – but the couple struggled financially.

They welcomed their third child, Jamie Lynn, in 1991, and seven years later, the family filed for bankruptcy.

Britney spoke out about how her dad’s alcoholism and their ongoing money problems impacted her childhood in her memoir.

‘Dad drank until he couldn’t think. He disappeared from home for several days at a time. And when he was drunk, he got really mean,’ she recalled.

‘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 said Jamie would get ‘depressed and shut down’ when he would drink, and described him as ‘mean, apathetic, and cold.’

She also recalled him being extremely ‘hard’ on her and her siblings, and said it felt like ‘nothing they ever did’ was ‘good enough in his eyes.’

‘To me, the saddest thing was that I had always just wanted a father who loved me just the way I was – someone who said, “I love you, period. You can do anything. I would love you forever unconditionally,”‘ she added.

‘Feeling like you’re never good enough is a soul-crushing state of being for a child.’

Jamie Lynn told a similar story in her book, Things I Should Have Said, writing, ‘He spent most of my life in that cycle of ruinous behavior. His bouts of drinking always caused me periods of torment and sorrow.’

Absentee father: Jamie was hardly around as Britney rose to fame – and once her career took off, he became extremely critical of her appearance, ‘repeatedly telling her she looked fat’

Jamie was hardly around as Britney (seen in 1993) rose to fame – and once her career took off, he became extremely critical of her appearance, ‘repeatedly telling her she looked fat’

Britney’s love of performing was obvious from a young age – she got selected to perform a solo at one of her dance recitals when she was only three, and she sang at her kindergarten graduation.

At eight years old, with her talent undeniable, she and her mom traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, together so she could audition for Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club.

While she didn’t get the part – she was told she was too young – she impressed the casting director who ultimately introduced her to New York-based talent agent Nancy Carson.

Lynne then moved to Manhattan with her kids so that Britney could attend the Professional Performing Arts School and train with Nancy – while Jamie stayed behind in Louisiana.

In 1992, after appearing in a slew of commercials and spending some time as the understudy of the lead role in the off-Broadway musical Ruthless!, Britney was cast in the Mickey Mouse Club, which she starred in for two years before it was canceled in 1994.

After that, family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph sent a tape of her singing to some record labels, which earned her a contract with Jive Records in 1997 – at age 15.

During this time, Jamie was hardly around – but when he did show up, he made it clear that he was depending on Britney to become a star.

Nancy later recalled to the New York Times in a documentary, ‘Jamie visited from time to time and was anxious to see this time be worthwhile so that he could justify the money that it was costing to do this.’

A former executive who worked for Jive Records added, ‘I never talked to her father.

‘The only thing Jamie ever said to me was, “My daughter is going to be so rich she’s going to buy me a boat.”‘

‘He repeatedly told me I looked fat and that I was going to have to do something about it,’ the Lucky songstress called in her book. She is seen in 1999

Britney’s debut album, …Baby One More Time, came out in 1999, and it was an instant success – debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and launching her into mega stardom.

But as Britney soared to the top, her dad became extremely critical of her appearance.

‘He repeatedly told me I looked fat and that I was going to have to do something about it,’ the Lucky songstress called in her book.

Lynne (seen with Jamie) ultimately filed for divorce in 2002, thanks to Britney’s encouragement. She recalled in her book, ‘Britney [asked me] if I wanted to live out my days with a husband who was barely present, never mind supportive or loving?’

‘He’d drummed that message into me as a girl, and even after I’d accomplished so much, he was continuing to do that to me.’

Lynne ultimately filed for divorce in 2002, thanks to Britney’s encouragement.

‘Britney sat me down. “Mama,” she said, “Do you want to live like this for the rest of your life?”‘ Lynne later recalled.

‘She meant, of course, did I want to live out my days with a husband who was barely present, never mind supportive or loving?’

While reflecting on her marriage to Jamie in her book, Lynne accused him of putting her through ‘years and years of verbal abuse and erratic behavior.’

She said the ‘foundation’ of their marriage had ‘cracked’ long before Britney got famous, but that him ‘abandoning’ her when her daughter’s career took off was the final straw.

Britney later admitted, however, that things did not get any easier for the family once her parents got divorced.

‘My mom was trying to recover from her divorce from my dad, which she’d finally gone through with,’ she said.

‘[She was] depressed and self-medicating, she could barely get up off the couch. And my dad was nowhere to be found.’

Jamie entered into rehab in 2004, after it was said that Britney urged him to get professional help.

Rushing to Britney’s side: When the star had a breakdown in 2008, Jamie requested an ’emergency conservatorship’ and was appointed as the leader, despite his tumultuous past

In 2006, Britney started to have a series of very-public outbursts – and many began to question her wellbeing, as well as her ability to take care of her two young sons, Sean and Jayden

Despite being absent for most of Britney’s rise to the top, Jamie somehow ended up as the leader of her conservatorship when things went downhill in 2008, which gave him complete control over almost every aspect of her life and career.

After the success of her first LP, Britney went on to drop four more immensely popular albums, embark on a series of sold-out world tours, and receive a slew of awards for her hits.

By 2006, there was no denying that Britney was one of the most well-known faces on the globe.

But as her career flourished, she began to crumble under the growing pressure and attention that comes with fame.

She started to have a series of very-public outbursts – and many began to question her wellbeing, as well as her ability to take care of her two young sons, Sean and Jayden, who she shared with ex Kevin Federline.

In January 2008, Britney suffered from a mental breakdown that resulted in her being put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. She’s seen in December 2007

She was often spotted getting into screaming matches with paparazzi and partying into the wee hours of the morning.

After she was hospitalized, Jamie quickly stepped in and requested an ’emergency conservatorship’ for his daughter. He’s seen in March 2008

On multiple occasions, child services had to get involved – like the time pictures emerged that showed her driving a car with her then-four-month-old son sitting on her lap.

In February 2007, the singer infamously shaved her hair off, and seven months later, she was slapped with two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run and driving without a valid license after she allegedly crashed into a parked car.

Then, in January 2008, amid an ongoing custody battle over her two kids, Britney suffered from a mental breakdown that resulted in her being rushed to the hospital and ultimately put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold.

After she was hospitalized, Jamie quickly stepped in and requested an ’emergency conservatorship’ for his daughter.

The judge granted his request and appointed him as the leader, despite his past issues with alcoholism and his strained relationship with Britney. It was made permanent in October 2008.

For the next decade, Britney continued to drop hit after hit and perform show after show, while secretly suffering in silence. She’s seen in 2012

Within months of her hospitalization, Britney was back to work – releasing her sixth studio album in December 2008 and heading out on another world tour three months after that.

She did not slow down after that, and for the next decade, Britney continued to drop hit after hit and perform show after show, while secretly suffering in silence.

From the outside, it looked like she was more successful and happier than ever – but behind-the-scenes, the world would later learn that she was desperate to break free of her father’s control.

Things finally came to a head in early 2019, when Britney announced that she was canceling her Las Vegas residency and taking an indefinite hiatus from performing.

At the time, she said it was because her dad had suffered from a near-fatal colon rupture.

But when reports emerged two months later that said she had entered into treatment due to the stress that her father’s illness had caused – some of her most dedicated fans started to suspect something was up.

But in 2019, Britney announced that she was canceling her Las Vegas residency and taking an indefinitey hiatus from performing. She’s seen promoting the residency

Some of her most dedicated fans started to suspect something was up – and soon began the Free Britney movement

Soon began the Free Britney movement – social media was flooded with rumors that she was being held at the rehab center against her will, and thousands started to dissect Britney’s every move since the conservatorship had begun.

Hoards of her supporters started protesting outside the center where Britney was staying, and even celebrities like Cher, Paris Hilton, and Miley Cyrus got involved by showing their support online.

Over the course of 2020, Britney fought hard in court to try to get her father removed as her conservator – as the entire world seemed to watch on.

Over the course of 2020, Britney fought hard in court to try to get her father removed as her conservator – as the entire world seemed to watch on. He is seen in 2017

And as the legal battle ensued, the first details of what Britney – who still had not spoken about the situation publicly – allegedly went through under her father’s control were brought to light.

Her lawyers told the court in November 2020, ‘My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father. She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.’

In one document, they wrote that Jamie had ‘restricted everything from whom she dated to the color of her kitchen cabinets.’

‘She articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her,’ her attorneys said elsewhere in the papers.

The worldwide movement to end her conservatorship was heightened further by the release of the 2021 documentary Framing Britney Spears.

Jamie’s lawyer responded to the ongoing criticism from the public during an appearance on Good Morning America in February 2021.

She stated, ‘I understand that every story wants to have a villain, but people have it so wrong here.

‘This is a story about a fiercely loyal, loving, and dedicated father who rescued his daughter from a life-threatening situation. People were harming her and they were exploiting her. Jamie saved Britney’s life.’

The truth comes out: Britney took the stand in June 2021 and made a series of explosive allegations against the conservatorship, claiming she was forced to take lithium and use an IUD against her will

Britney (seen with Jamie in 2016) took to the stand in June 2021, and claimed that she was forced to perform against her will and had to take medication that she didn’t want to

Britney took to the stand in June 2021, and during her testimony, she made a series of explosive allegations against her father.

She claimed that she was forced to perform against her will and had to take medication that she didn’t want to under the conservatorship.

‘My management said if I don’t do this tour, I will have to find an attorney, and by contract my own management could sue me if I didn’t follow through with the tour,’ she said of her 2018 Piece of Me tour.

‘It was very threatening and scary. And with the conservatorship, I couldn’t even get my own attorney. So out of fear, I went ahead and I did the tour.’

She recalled how her psychiatrist prescribed lithium to her ‘out of nowhere’ after she had refused to perform.

‘He immediately, the next day, put me on lithium out of nowhere. He took me off my normal meds I’ve been on for five years,’ she said during the trial.

‘Lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to.

‘You can go mentally impaired if you take too much, if you stay on it longer than five months.

‘But he put me on that, and I felt drunk. I couldn’t even have a conversation with my mom or dad really about anything.’

She added that ‘anything that happened to her had to be approved by her dad’ and that he was ‘all for’ her being on lithium.

In August 2021, Britney’s dad announced he would be stepping away from his responsibilities as her conservator, and it officially came to an end that November. She’s seen in 2019

She told the court that her father ‘loved the control’ that he had over her – and that he would get joy out of hearing her ‘cry.’

She added that she hadn’t spoken out about it before the trial because she felt like she didn’t ‘have a right to use her voice ‘ – and that she had been in ‘denial.’

‘I’ve lied and told the whole world I’m OK and I’m happy. I thought [that] if I said that enough maybe I might become happy, because I’ve been in denial,’ she said.

‘I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. You know, fake it till you make it. But now I’m telling you the truth, OK?

‘I’m not happy. I can’t sleep. I’m so angry it’s insane. And I’m depressed. I cry every day.’

In addition, the singer said that she was told she wouldn’t be allowed to get married or have a child while under the conservatorship – and that she was being forced to use an IUD despite her wanting to have kids with her then-boyfriend, Sam Asghari.

‘I want to be able to get married and have a baby,’ she told the court. ‘I was told right now in the conservatorship I am not able to get married and have a baby.

‘I have an [IUD] inside of myself right now so I don’t get pregnant … this so-called team won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don’t want me to have children.

‘This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good … I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive. I don’t feel like I can live a full life. I just want my life back.’

In August 2021, Britney’s dad announced he would be stepping away from his responsibilities as her conservator.

His lawyer said in a statement at the time, ‘Even as Mr. Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests.’

Throughout her memoir, The Woman In Me, Britney spoke out in more detail about some of the things that she allegedly endured over the course of the 13-year conservatorship

One month later, he filed a petition to end her conservatorship once and for all.

The document read, ‘As Mr. Spears has said again and again, all he wants is what is best for his daughter.

‘If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance.’

In November 2021, Britney’s conservatorship was officially terminated.

Throughout her memoir, the Hit Me Baby One More Time songstress spoke out in more detail about some of the things that she allegedly endured over the course of the 13-year conservatorship.

She claimed that her father degraded her for her appearance and enlisted a team to ‘record every calorie’ she consumed.

‘No matter how much I dieted and exercised, my father was always telling me I was fat,’ she wrote.

‘My body was strong enough to carry two children and agile enough to execute every choreographed move perfectly onstage.

‘And now here I was, having every calorie recorded so people could continue to get rich off my body.’

She also said Jamie forced to stay in the mental health facility in 2019 ‘against her will,’ and that she felt like they were ‘trying to kill her.’

‘My father said if I didn’t go, then I’d have to go to court. He said, “Trust me, you will not win,”‘ she recalled in her memoir.

‘I honestly felt like they were trying to kill me. They kept me locked up against my will for months.’

Declining: Since the end of the conservatorship, Jamie has mostly stayed out of the spotlight, residing in a guest house at daughter Jamie Lynn’s home – but has faced a series of health woes recently

It’s been said that Jamie has been living with his other daughter Jamie Lynn in recent years, and that he’s been suffering from a slew of health problems

Just over a year after the conservatorship ended, Jamie spoke to DailyMail.com exclusively about it, and he described it as a necessary intervention which not only saved Britney from her darkest days, but rescued her fragile relationship with her children.

‘Not everybody’s going to agree with me,’ he said. ‘It’s been one hell of a time. But I love my daughter with all my heart and soul.

‘Where would Britney be right now without that conservatorship? And I don’t know if she’d be alive. I don’t.

‘For protecting her, and also protecting the kids, conservatorship was a great tool. Without it, I don’t think she would have got the kids back.’

At the time, he revealed that he was living in a guest house on daughter Jamie Lynn’s massive estate in Hammond, Louisiana, and that he had no contact with Britney, or her two sons.

He insisted that the conservatorship helped rebuild her wealth, claiming ‘she was broke’ when he took over her assets, despite reports claiming her net worth was around $50 million at the time.

Earlier this week, reports emerged that said Jamie (seen in 2021) had developed ‘a massive infection’ which resulted in him needing to have one of his legs amputated

‘She had no money whatsoever. The conservatorship set a resource where she could get back financially,’ he added.

‘And, you know, we worked – and she worked – and she got herself straight up financially.

‘The conservatorship allowed the finances to be better. My understanding of a conservatorship is to help someone regain their life and return back to society, and to be able to live normally.

‘I want to say that I made a difference. There were a few people behind me that really helped bring it to a point where we could help her.’

Since then, Jamie has faced a series of worrisome health problems. In August 2023, TMZ reported that Jamie had been ‘in and out of the hospital for months’ dealing with complications from a knee replacement operation he underwent 16 years ago.

In October, a source told DailyMail.com that he had fallen off the wagon and was drinking again, just months after he completed a 30-day stint in rehab.

And now, new reports have emerged that said Jamie had developed a ‘massive infection’ which resulted in him needing to have one of his legs amputated last month.

‘He had five  unsuccessful surgeries to contain the infection, and doctors decided the only way to proceed was amputation,’ TMZ reported.