It’s fair to say that Britney Spears and her clan will not be appearing on “Family Feud” any time soon.
But after years of Britney’s heavily publicized family drama, the star’s legions of fans did a double take when photos showed the singer’s mom, Lynne, joining her 42nd birthday celebrations on December 2.
Lynne, 68, was a guest at the bash thrown by the star’s manager Cade Hudson.
Hudson posted an Instagram photo of Britney with her brother Bryan, 46, and their mom.
A friend of Lynne’s also posted pics of the mother and daughter.
So will there be a family reunion for the holidays?
“It’s baby steps,” a Spears source told Page Six. “Everyone around Britney is being very careful not to hurt the chances of reconciliation.”
Back in May, Britney wrote on Instagram: “My sweet mama showed up at my doorstep yesterday after 3 years … It’s been such a long time … with family there’s always things that need to be worked out … but time heals all wounds !!!”
Following their initial meeting, Spears then wrote, “After being able to communicate what I’ve held in for an extremely long time, I feel so blessed we were able to try to make things RIGHT !!! I love you so much !!! Psss … I’m so blessed we can have coffee together after 14 years !!! Let’s go shopping afterwards !!!”
Since then, Page Six is told, Britney and Lynne have been speaking frequently on the phone.
“Britney and Lynne were talking prior to the birthday party,” said the source. “For Britney, it’s very hard, it’s very sensitive. It would be good for them to have each other in their lives.
“Trust is the keyword. Britney has a very hard time trusting people, as do many people in the limelight, but for her it’s even more difficult after everything that has happened.”
Britney’s relationship with her mom has long been strained after the singer was placed in an extremely strict conservatorship and she publicly blamed Lynne for not standing by her.
And things aren’t perfect yet.
Britney last month accused her mom of giving away her precious childhood mementos, including china dolls and journals, to which Lynne responded by posting photos of the items on Instagram.
“I’m not sure who told you I got rid of your dolls and journals but I would never do that! That would be cruel because I know how much they mean to you,” Lynne wrote. “They are special to me too because of the years we spent collecting them. Of course, I still have your things, and I am happy to send them to you if you’d like me to. Please let me know and know how much I love you.”
Page Six also reveals that there is a fragile reconciliation at play between Britney and her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, 32.
The two fell out over Jamie Lynn’s book “Things I Should Have Said: Family, Fame, and Figuring it Out,” published in January 2022 — with Britney claiming her little sister had capitalized on the star’s conservatorship battle.
She even dubbed the “Zoey 101” actress a “total bitch” in her best-selling memoir “The Woman in Me.”
“[Jamie Lynn] knew I was reaching out to her for help and that she was dogging me. I felt like she should have taken my side,” Britney shared about being placed in a mental health facility in 2018.
However, as of now, “They are speaking,” the Spears source told Page Six.
Last month, Jamie-Lynn appeared on the UK reality show “I’m A Celebrity …Get Me Out Of Here!” — which sees celebs sent to survive in the Australian jungle — before quitting after just 10 days, citing medical reasons.
A well-placed insider at the ITV network confirmed that Jamie-Lynn was wary of being asked about her family.
“Her appearance was quite tightly managed,” said the insider.
When fellow contestant and former champion jockey Frankie Dettori asked Jamie Lynn, “Is it true you don’t get on with [Britney] now?” she simply replied, “I love my sister.”
Jamie Lynn signed up for that show just days after being the second contestant voted off ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” While on the dance competition series, she was hounded online by Britney fans, who blame Jamie Lynn for not being supportive of her sister.
While on “I’m A Celebrity…” Jamie Lynn did say of Britney: “I can imagine she’d be worried about me on here. I think she’s probably checking in on me heavily …
‘”My crying, she’d probably be like, “Ya’ll get her the f*** out of there, right now!” She’s a good big sister, she is. Yeah, I love her. Me and her throw down. The world’s seen that. I’ve learned to stop talking about it publicly, but you know what, families fight. Listen, we just do it better than most.”
Jamie Lynn was paid her full fee, estimated at just under $200,000 (£100-150,000) for her time on the show, we’re told, and she made a quick turnaround, flying back to LA for the “DWTS” finale on Tuesday night.
Back in February, Jamie Lynn was seen bawling as she quit Fox’s “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” after just two days, saying that she missed her daughters, Maddie, 15, and Ivey, 5.
But amid the fragile reconciliation for the Spears women, it seems the same cannot be said for Britney and her estranged father, Jamie.
After months of ill health, Jamie, 71, recently had his leg amputated, TMZ reported this week.
Sources told the outlet that Jamie had a massive infection in one of his legs that landed him in a hospital for weeks.
He had five unsuccessful surgeries to contain the infection before doctors decided the only way to proceed was amputation.
While TMZ reported there is hope for a father-daughter reconciliation, another family insider told Page Six it’s unlikely.
“That is a far more difficult situation and a difficult conversation to have,” said the insider. “It’s very different to the situation with Lynne.”
Jamie, of course, was responsible for arranging to have Britney put into a strict conservatorship, at the height of her mental health struggles, that lasted for 13 years until November 2021.
The singer testified that, under the conservatorship, she was forced to have an IUD implant so she did not get pregnant.
As Britney wrote in her bestselling memoir, she resented that her father appeared to see her “as put on the Earth for no other reason than to help their cash flow.”
Aside from the money disputes, Britney called out Jamie in her book for “repeatedly” telling her she looked fat and allegedly limiting her food intake to chicken and canned vegetables for two years.
She also slammed her “horrible” father for forcing her into rehab in 2014 with “crack and heroin addicts.”
In another passage, Britney compared Jamie to a cult leader, claiming her family began to treat her at one point as if she were “beholden to him.”
Jamie is now believed to be living in a guest house at daughter Jamie Lynn’s home in Hammond, Louisiana, along with her husband, Jamie Watson, and her daughters.
TMZ reported that “there’s nothing [Jamie Spears would] rather have” than a relationship with Britney again, and that he harbors “no ill will” against her.
Asked about this, the family insider told Page Six: “If something really bad happened to Jamie, Britney would be there.”
A source who knows Jamie added: “Britney was very, very ill [when the conservatorship began] and Jamie did what he thought was best.”
The “Toxic” star remains close to her brother Bryan who, sources told Page Six, moved into Britney’s home in Thousand Oaks, California, following her split with her third husband, Sam Asghari, in August, to give her support. He was also at her birthday party.
Britney’s sons, Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden, 17, are now living in Hawaii with their dad, Kevin Federline.
But as Page Six previously reported, Britney is thrilled to be speaking on the phone to them again after years of estrangement.
“The Woman In Me” was this week voted Best Memoir & Autobiography in the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards, and topped the New York Times nonfiction bestsellers list after its October release.
Britney and her reps are still debating whether to sell the screen rights for the book, with Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Reese Witherspoon all said to be interested in producing.
“Working on the book definitely helped Britney, sometimes in life you have to put it all out there and start over again,” the Spears source said.
“She’s said that it was cathartic and therapeutic and I think it’s the first steps of healing with her family.”