Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's 2 Kids: All About Sean and Jayden

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were married for three years and share two sons

Britney Spears, sons Sean Federline and Jayden James Federline arrive at the Los Angeles premiere of "Smurfs 2" at Regency Village Theatre on July 28, 2013 in Westwood, California
Britney Spears with sons Jayden and Preston. Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's boys are all grown up.

The former couple share two children, sons Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17.

While appearing on the cover of PEOPLE in October 2023 to promote her new memoir The Woman in Me, the pop star called motherhood a "dream." She said of raising her sons, “Starting a family was my dream come true. Being a mom was my dream come true.” 

Growing up, Preston and Jayden often accompanied their mom on tour and visited during her Las Vegas residency. In 2021, Spears explained on Instagram, "I had my babies very young … at all the pools we went to on tours, all the babies flocked to me because I always brought the most toys 🧸🪁🪀. I really am a baby mamma 😜😜😜 !!!!"

Federline and Spears co-parent their boys, which the former backup dancer admitted can be complicated. "When you are co-parenting, you have to be willing to give up some of the things you would really like to do," he told Bravo's Personal Space in 2017.

The exes have had several different custody arrangements since their divorce in July 2007, with Federline having majority custody for many years. After Spears' father, Jamie Spears, was suspended as conservator of Britney's estate, Federline's attorney told PEOPLE that Preston and Jayden would "benefit from the removal of stress from her life so that they have their mom at her best." At the time, a source close to the "Circus" singer said Spears hoped to "see her boys more" now that her 13-year conservatorship has ended.

Britney Spears poses with sons Jayden James Federline (L) and Sean Preston Federline (R) during agame against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on April 17, 2013 in Los Angeles, California
Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers

But despite their relatively public life, a source told PEOPLE in 2019 that Preston and Jayden are "well-adjusted."

"They are very smart and very polite. They both do well in school. They keep Britney up to date about school projects," the source said, noting that they were a support system for Spears during the legal battles surrounding her conservatorship.

Though neither son attended Spears' wedding to estranged husband Sam Asghari in June 2022, Federline's attorney told PEOPLE that both sons were "happy for their mom." During an interview with The Daily Mail a few months later, Federline claimed that Preston and Jayden were choosing not to see their mother at the moment.

The boys now live with their father in Hawaii after Spears "consented" to the move in May 2023, but are in contact with Spears.

Here's everything to know about Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's two sons, Preston and Jayden.

Sean Preston Federline, 18

Britney Spears (C) and sons Sean Preston Federline (L) and Jayden James Federline (R) arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere 'Smurfs 2' on July 28, 2013 at Regency Village Theatre in Westwood, California
Barry King/FilmMagic

The Britney and Kevin: Chaotic stars wed in September 2004. The following month, the singer announced she was taking a break from her career to start a family. Spears and Federline welcomed their firstborn, Sean Preston, on Sept. 14, 2005, in Santa Monica, California.

"We are ecstatic to announce the birth of our son!" Spears wrote on her website. "Everyone is happy, healthy and doing wonderful. Thank you for all your love and well wishes!"

As for Preston's personality, Federline told PEOPLE in 2008 that his then-toddler was "sensitive," explaining, "His feelings get hurt real easy. He is the one that is always under my wing; he doesn't want to go anywhere without Daddy. If his shirt gets dirty, he wants to change it. He'll also tell you whether or not he's going to wear an outfit you pick out for him. 'No, I want those shoes, Dada.' "

Britney Spears and son Sean Preston
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Preston and Jayden's only major red carpet event was in July 2013, when they joined Spears for the L.A. premiere of Smurfs 2. After the event, their mom tweeted, "Awww! #Smurfs2 was super cute. The boys loved it."

Preston and Jayden have also joined their mom at sporting events, including on the field at Dodger Stadium in April 2013 and meeting the Harlem Globetrotters in February 2014.

Growing up, both Preston and Jayden were into skateboarding, with Spears calling herself a "typical proud skate mom ✌." And much like their singing mama, both boys seem to enjoy getting silly, with Spears sharing goofy shots of the trio during a break from her 2018 tour, as well as a sweet snap of quality time with Preston in Miami.

Britney Spears and her sons
Britney Spears Instagram

Since Preston and Jayden's birthdays are so close together — Jayden's birthday is September 12 — Spears usually shares one celebratory post for them both.

"My two lil men's birthdays are this week 🥳🥳🥳 !!!!!!" she wrote in 2020 alongside a photo of the sky. "You guys are getting older and so big and are waaay cooler 🤪 than me !!!!! I love you both to the moon and back 🌙💞 … and I hope all of your bday wishes come true and more!!!!!"

Jayden James Federline, 17

Jayden James Fenderline
Britney Spears Instagram

Spears and Federline welcomed son Jayden James on Sept. 12, 2006. The younger Federline was born at 1:11 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.

"Everything is great," Jamie Spears told Access Hollywood after Jayden was born. Two months later, however, Spears filed for divorce after three years of marriage. Federline opened up to PEOPLE about his and Spears' parenting relationship in December 2008, a year and a half after their divorce was finalized.

"The first couple years of their life they were all over the place," he said. "My main thing for my kids is that they get to live life the way — or as close to the way — that most people do. It's going to be hard not to spoil them, but I don't want to."

Federline also admitted that having kids was a huge adjustment in their marriage. "It's hard enough to be in a marriage, and then have a kid, then kids, it changes everything" he said. "For me, I'd become more concerned with my children. Not that I ignored Britney, but my kids are always most important."

Federline explained that he fought for full custody because he felt he could provide a more stable environment. "A reason why we ended up going through the custody battle is because I want my kids to have a mom and love her. I don't want to do this by myself," he said. "Part of the whole thing was to get them safe and get her to where she will always be there. Because there are points in time where the whole world didn't know whether she would be around for them."

Federline also shared that then-2-year-old Jayden was "a little terror." He explained, "If Preston is picking on him — well, usually it's not Preston that's picking on him — he'll just go and terrorize the whole house. For no reason at all."

Britney Spears and her sons
Britney Spears Instagram

Spears has been inspired by her little men as the boys grew up. In July 2017, she shared photos of Preston and Jayden in cowboy hats, writing, "I took these photos of my children before my trip this summer … looking back at the photos I've taken of them, it brings me to my knees everyday to see how blessed I am to have such amazing and inspiring kids!!!!!"

The singer has also shared photos of her boys together, like their trip to Disneyland in August 2019.

"Great time at Disneyland today," she wrote. "My boys are older now, so they don't like their picture taken ever ... so I was thrilled today when they said SURE !!!!! Such a great place !!!!!"

Britney Spears and her sons at Disneyland
Preston, Britney Spears and Jayden. Britney Spears Instagram

Jayden seems to have inherited his mom's gift for music. In a since-deleted March 2022 Instagram post, Spears called both of her boys "geniuses." "His gift scares me," she said of Jayden. "[He] can play jazz and literally anything on the piano … We watched Green Book and he sat down and immediately started playing the blues." Spears also encourages her sons to explore other art forms, and has posted about painting outdoors with her boys.

In March 2020, Jayden posted a surprising tell-all Instagram Live video where he spoke about topics like his mother's return to music.

A source told PEOPLE that Spears hadn't seen the viral video at the time. They also confirmed that Jayden and Preston spend time with her, but had been primarily living with Federline. "They have very busy schedules like most kids their age. They have school, homework and after-school activities," the source said. "They live with Kevin, his wife and kids. The boys are fun and sweet."

In an interview with The Daily Mail in August 2022, Jayden explained why he and Preston decided not to attend their mom's wedding in June. "At the time it just wasn't a good time to go. I'm not saying that I'm not happy for her," said Jayden, who appears in the interview with his father.

"I'm really happy for them, but she didn't invite the whole family, and then if it was just going to be me and Preston, I just don't see how that situation would have ended on good terms."

While his relationship with his mother may be complicated, Jayden said "I 100 percent think this can be fixed."

"It's just going to take a lot of time and effort. I just want her to get better mentally," he continued. "When she gets better I really want to see her again."

Speaking directly to his mom, Jayden said, "I love you a lot, I hope for the best for you. Maybe one day we can sit down like this and talk again."

The same month that Jayden's interview aired, Spears addressed the boys' decision to not see her and admitted to having reservations of her own. "I'm afraid to inform you guys, I'm not willing to see you until I feel valued," she said in a since-deleted Instagram post.

She noted that she's been made to feel "desperate" and "pathetic" for trying to be involved in her sons' lives, adding, "but honestly, I should have valued myself way more." The mother also shared love for her boys, saying, "All I know is my love for my children is more than anything and I'm sorry if I ever hurt you guys in any way."

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