Britney Spears with Sam Asghari.

Emma Clarke, The Independent

What a time to be alive: J-Lo and Ben Affleck are engaged, Kim Kardashian is dating Pete Davidson and Britney Spears is PREGNANT!! Taking to Instagram last night, Britney shared a lengthy update with her 40.5 million followers, discussing how on her latest trip to Maui, Hawaii, she had lost weight, only to gain it again on her return.

Putting it down to being “food pregnant”, she and husband Sam Asghari shrugged off the changes to her body, only to have it confirmed four days later that she was, in fact, baby pregnant.

But the post, which was accompanied by an image of a teacup and flowers, shot by photographer Andrea McClain, was more than just a celebratory statement.

Spears went on to discuss how, during a previous pregnancy (she has two sons: Sean, 16, and Jayden, 15) she had suffered with perinatal depression.  

She also told fans that she’d be avoiding public situations to avert attention from the paparazzi, given how much they hounded her back in the early aughts.

“I obviously won’t be going out as much due to the paps getting their money shot of me,” she wrote, “like they unfortunately already have…”.

Like every other Nineties child who grew up listening to her music, I was elated by the news. I shared her post on social media and felt a real sense of joy for the former pop star.

Having been subjected to the constraints of her conservatorship for over a decade, and recently winning this hard-fought battle, her baby news was the cherry on top – further proof that things are on the up for our girl.

Now, of course, Britney being pregnant is not a political act. She isn’t with child purely to get one over on anyone. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less satisfying for fans who have followed her journey over the years.

In a statement she read at a court hearing in June 2021, she spoke of how her guardianship prevented her from having children.

“I want to be able to get married and have a baby”, she said. “I was told right now in the conservatorship I am not able to get married and have a baby.”

Spears added: “I have an [IUD] inside of myself right now so I don’t get pregnant... but this so-called team won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out because they don’t want me to have children.

“So basically, this conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good.” At the time, Spears received an outpouring of support from fans across the globe, who, quite rightly, called out the system that was not only controlling her money and estate, but her reproductive rights. Women’s rights group, Refuge, added that, if true, it was “reproductive coercion”.

Yes, news that someone is having a baby is almost always reason to rejoice. It is a happy occasion and one to be celebrated. But knowing how much she desired another child, and how hard her father Jamie and his team fought her on it, makes it all the more sweeter.

It’s another monumental victory for Britney and a deeply personal one at that, a final blow to the people who sought to control her every choice. Britney Spears deserves all the happiness in the world.

She deserves to make her own choices about her body and her future. She deserves to navigate her pregnancy on her own terms, without the constant observations and attacks from the media.  Britney is a queen and we must protect her at all costs.