Kevin Federline responded to speculation over the intentions behind his upcoming memoir, You Thought You Knew.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, published online on Tuesday, October 14, Britney Spears’ ex-husband was asked if he had released the book “because the child support ended with Britney.” (The former couple were married from 2004 to 2007 and share sons Sean Preston, 20, and Jayden James, 19.)
Federline initially smiled once the question was posed before responding with, “You want to go there right away? Alright. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want this book to be successful. I wish I’ll sell a million books or more, or whatever.”
The DJ and professional dancer, whose 228-page book will be released on Tuesday, October 21, added, however, that “money is not at the root of this story, [and] it never has been.”
Federline, who is also father to daughter Kori, 23, and son Kaleb, 21, with ex Shar Jackson, as well as daughters Jordan, 14, and Peyton, 11, with wife Victoria Prince, went on to detail his motivation behind the book. “I wanted to make sure my children were old enough to understand what I’m doing,” Federline told the outlet. “Everything has always been about my family and that’s what people don’t really realize … every step that I’ve taken has been for the benefit of my children, and my children are ready for me to tell my story. It’s not just my story, right, this affects everybody in my family. My kids, my wife, even my exes.”
Last month, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Federline wanted to share his life with fans on his own terms almost two years after Spears released her own memoir, The Woman in Me.
“Kevin spent about three or four years working on the book,” the insider told Us at the time. “This wasn’t an overnight thing he threw together after Britney came out with her book. He’s never really told his side of the story in depth, and he knows interviews and documentaries can be twisted, so he wanted people to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.”
During his interview with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, the outlet stated that Federline has not “spoken” to Spears “in years,” but has “heard stories from their two sons,” which has led him to worry about Sean and Jayden’s home life.
“I’m really worried. I’m absolutely, as a father, terrified that one day I might wake up and my sons are going to have to deal with the unimaginable,” he told the outlet. “I kind of have to sound the alarm that I truly feel that somehow, some way, I just wish that their mom would get help.”
Federline’s remarks come after a representative for Spears, 43, told Us in a statement on Tuesday that the memoir will arrive “after child support has ended with Kevin,” and that “he and others are profiting off her.”
Spears’ rep noted that the pop star prioritizes her children above all. “All she cares about are her kids, Sean Preston and Jayden James, and their well-being during this sensationalism,” the statement read.
