Federline alleges Spears drank while pregnant and used cocaine while breastfeeding

16 October 2025

George Pimentel / Credit: WireImage for Ogilvy Public Relations

In his upcoming memoir You Thought You Knew, Kevin Federline levels a series of sharp and highly personal accusations against his ex-wife Britney Spears, claiming that during their marriage she consumed alcohol while pregnant and used cocaine while breastfeeding their two sons. He frames these behaviors as symptomatic of mounting pressures in her life, suggesting she turned to substances and medications to cope amid the glare of fame.

Federline recalls a moment tied to the release of his 2006 album that he considers pivotal: Spears had promised to stay home with one of their infants, but he says she showed up unannounced to a party, allegedly consuming cocaine despite their child being at home and breastfeeding. In his telling, a “silent alarm” went off when he witnessed what he describes as a dangerous mixing of alcohol and medication during pregnancy—he argues that what would have been a glass of wine for another person would affect her much more because of the medication context.

He says the incident at that party was a turning point for him emotionally. He reports confronting Spears, having a drink thrown at his face, and ultimately seeing that his concerns for their children’s welfare left him no choice but to draw a boundary. Federline claims the risks to their infants moved him from worry to alarm: he asserts that he once asked Spears not to breastfeed in certain circumstances.

Spears, however, vehemently denies the allegations. In her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, she states she never had a drinking problem, and that she never used hard drugs—only prescription medication like Adderall. Ahead of Federline’s book’s release, a spokesperson for Spears issued a statement accusing Federline of once again profiting from her story, noting that the timing follows the end of child support payments. Spears also responded directly on social media, calling the repeated “gaslighting” from her ex exhausting, and expressing frustration over how few opportunities she has had to see their teen sons in recent years.

Federline says his motive is to protect their sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, now young adults. He describes their relationship history, the custody disputes, and how rumors and public perception painted him unfairly in many eyes. He believes his memoir will give them access to truths he feels have been hidden or mischaracterized.

Spears, in turn, maintains that she has tried to live privately since her conservatorship ended in 2021 and claims that she has been silenced by narratives she did not write. She underscores that her primary concern is her children’s wellbeing, and insists she has been misrepresented in ways that hurt her and the boys.

As the book’s release date approaches, the public and supporters are bracing for what might unfold—increasing scrutiny, renewed debate over mental health and substance use, and the struggle over whose narrative holds. For now, the spotlight is on conflicting truths, parenthood, and the collision of fame with private pain.