Ahead of the release of Britney Spears’ highly-anticipated memoir, The Woman in Me, much attention has been focused on her previous relationship with her ex-husband, Sam Asghari.
In August, it was announced that the pop star, 41, and the Iranian-American model, 29, were divorcing after nearly seven years together. Just 14 months earlier, Spears and Asghari were married in what he described as a “fairytale” backyard wedding ceremony. However, a number of rumours emerged around Spears’s alleged infidelity, while tabloids claimed that Asghari was attempting to renegotiate their prenuptial agreement - but his representative later denied this was the case.
Spears’ wedding to Asghari in June 2022 was largely seen as a victory for the “Oops I Did It Again” singer, as it came after the termination of her 13-year conservatorship that had given her father, Jamie Spears, control over her estate, financial affairs and personal life.
The conservatorship was first set up in 2008 after Spears struggled with a public mental health crisis. But in 2021, she told a court: “I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship I am not able to get married and have a baby.”
She asked the judge to end the “abusive” arrangement that left her “traumatised”, adding: “This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life.”
Asghari’s support of Spears throughout her legal fight to be released from the conservatorship was praised by her fans, many of whom rallied behind the singer. But since then, the couple appeared to have struggled with their relationship. It was previously reported that their marriage was “on the rocks for months” prior to their divorce.
Here is a timeline of Spears and Asghari’s relationship, from meeting on the set of her music video to their split.
2016: Britney meets Sam
Asghari was cast as Spears’ love interest in the music video for her song “Slumber Party”, from her 2016 album Glory. He previously appeared in Fifth Harmony’s “Work From Home” music video.
He told Entertainment Tonight in 2019 that Spears was so keen on him that he didn’t have to audition for the role.
“It was a direct book,” he said. “A good friend of mine was working on the music video at the time. They told the casting director to cast this guy and then they sent my pictures to [Spears] and she picked it. ‘I want this guy,’ and so that’s how it was.”
They began chatting over the phone and text message, and soon became a couple.
2017: Instagram official
Spears shared the first photograph of her and Asghari as a couple on social media on New Year’s Day, making their relationship Instagram official.
That same year, they attended Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy gala together and celebrated Asghari’s 23rd birthday by going on a hike.
The couple began making more public appearances together as their relationship progressed, attending Michael Costello’s Art Hearts show during Los Angeles Fashion Week and sitting courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors game in LA with Spears’s sons, Jayden and Sean.
2018 - 2019: Honeymoon years
After celebrating their first year together, the “Womaniser” singer shared her feelings about Asghari on social media and said: “I’ve been with this man for over a year. Every day he inspires me to be a better person and that makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world!”
The inseparable pair continued to share photographs of their lives together, travelling around the world and creating memories with one another.
In April 2018, Asghari supported Spears at the 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards, where she accepted the Vanguard Award for her work promoting equality and acceptance.
She said in her acceptance speech: “I feel like our society has always put such an emphasis on what’s normal. And to be different is always seen as unusual or seen as strange. But to be accepted unconditionally and to be able to express yourself as an individual through art is such a blessing.”
The following year, in July 2019, they sparked engagement rumours after Spears was seen with a diamond ring on her left hand when they made their red carpet debut as a couple, at the premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s movie Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
People Britney Spears— (2019 Invision)
They did not address the rumours, but continued to give fans glimpses into how they spent their time together, which included horse-riding, boating and exercising.
Around this time, the #FreeBritney campaign became more widespread after fans became concerned for Spears’ wellbeing when she cancelled a planned Las Vegas residency and announced she was taking an “indefinite work hiatus”.
In August that year, a lawyer for Spears filed a document seeking substantial changes to the conservatorship “in order to reflect the major changes in her current lifestyle and her stated wishes”.
2020 - 2021: Lockdown together and engagement
When the Covid pandemic hit, Spears and Asghari initially spent some time apart as she went to Louisiana. The actor told In The Room that they managed to stay connected through video calls.
“When we were not together, it was just like when I was on a project or away from her. I trained with her for workouts via Facetime. It went great.”
They later spent lockdown together in Spears’s Thousand Oaks mansion in the prestigious Lake Sherwood community.
In February 2021, Asghari shared an Instagram Story slamming his girlfriend’s conservatorship and wrote: “I have zero respect for someone trying to control our relationship and constantly throwing obstacles in our way.”
Later that year, Spears gave an emotional 23-minute testimony and requested the arrangement be terminated.
In September, the couple announced their engagement. According to Vogue, Asghari proposed with a four-carat diamond ring. They appeared joyful in an Instagram video announcing the happy moment.
By November, Spears had been released from her conservatorship. Ahead of the hearing in which the judge issued the ruling to end the arrangement, Asghari shared a video of themselves dancing to one of Spears’s songs while wearing T-shirts that read “#FreeBritney”.
2022: Pregnancy, loss and marriage
In April, Spears announced she was pregnant with her and Asghari’s first child together, and her third child. She shares her two sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Sam Asghari and Britney Spears embrace in an Instagram post shared to the pop star’s social media account— (Instagram/Britney Spears)
However, the following month, she said in a statement posted to Instagram that she had suffered a miscarriage. The couple wrote: “We have lost our miracle baby.”
That June, Spears and Asghari held their lavish nuptials at her home in California. The wedding ceremony was attended by celebrity guests including Madonna, Selena Gomez, Paris Hilton, Drew Barrymore, and Donatella Versace - who designed Spears’ wedding dress.
2023: Asghari files for divorce
In August, Asghari submitted a divorce filing to Los Angeles Superior Court and cited irreconcilable differences.
While Spears did not initially address the news of her split from the model, instead sharing on Instagram that she was considering “buying a horse”, she later commented on the “shock” split.
“I’m not here to explain why because it’s honestly nobody’s business,” Spears wrote, adding: “But, I couldn’t take the pain anymore honestly !!!”
In a statement posted online before Spears’, Asghari said: “After six years of love and commitment to each other my wife and I have decided to end our journey together.
“We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always. S*** happens. Asking for privacy seems ridiculous so I will just ask for everyone including media to be kind and thoughtful.”
A separate statement from his representative, issued to the Hollywood Reporter, denied media reports that Asghari allegedly threatened to release embarrassing materials about Spears unless their prenup was negotiated.
The rep said the claims are “false”, adding that “no negative intention has ever been directed towards her and never will be”. “Sam has always and will always support her.”
With Spears’ memoir set to be released on 24 October, Asghari revealed that he had obtained an early copy of the book. In an interview with TMZ on 13 October, he explained that he wasn’t worried about anything being written in the book that could paint him in a negative light.
“I already read it and I’m very proud of her,” he told the outlet. “She put a lot of work into it, and it was very hard. I’m definitely excited, and I’m extremely proud of her. It was a very tough one [to write].”
The Woman in Me is due for release on 24 October in the US and UK.
