Earlier this week, reports circulated that Britney Spears had secretly married and divorced her then-fiancé and former agent Jason Trawick in 2012. The apparent bombshell was based on the fact that her accounting records submitted to the court that year, as part of her ongoing conservatorship, mentioned that she had retained the services of family lawyer Alexandra Leichter on at least three occasions in 2012 — July, August, and September — around six months before Trawick and Spears called off their engagement.
Leichter declined to comment on what she discussed with Spears in those 2012 meetings, but the singer’s financial report listed the expenses as “Consultation on Dissolution of Marriage,” with one charge for $9,150.
Here’s what we know.
First, their history:
Spears and Trawick got engaged on December 15, 2011 (Trawick’s birthday), after a year and a half of dating. Reports at the time said that Spears was thrilled about getting married because she wanted to have more kids, in addition to her two sons with her ex-husband of three years, Kevin Federline.
Four months later, the court officially approved the request for her fiancé to take over conservatorship over her person. Her father Jamie Spears’s’ attorney, Geraldine Wyle, said at the time that the request for Trawick to take over was Britney’s idea and not Jamie’s.
“Jamie’s thrilled,” Wyle told reporters following the hearing. “It’s all in the family.”
A year after the couple got engaged, on January 10, 2012, Trawick submitted paperwork to the court resigning as conservator over Britney’s person. That same day, it was reported Britney signed with talent agency CAA, ditching Trawick’s firm at the time, William Morris Endeavor. The next day, Britney’s then-rep Jeff Raymond told People that the couple had “mutually agreed to end their one-year engagement.” On January 13, TMZ reported that Trawick signed an NDA that legally prohibited him from discussing his relationship with the singer, and that the reason they broke up was because Britney wanted more kids and he didn’t.
Were they secretly married and divorced during that time?
For a marriage to be valid, a marriage license must be registered in the county where the marriage took place. In addition, divorce filings must be publicly filed with the court. A search for divorce records in Los Angeles County did not reveal a divorce filing for the couple. There is also no marriage license or divorce record for them in Las Vegas, where Trawick lives.
Kevin Federline’s attorney, Mark Kaplan, said he has no information that Spears and Trawick secretly married and divorced.
“All of that would be news to me,” said Kaplan.
Could those 2012 consultations have been about a prenup?
Likely, these might have been the standard discussions regarding a prenuptial agreement that is frequently drafted when someone has considerable assets. Celebrity divorce attorney Randall Kessler says that could “absolutely explain that entry.”
“Wealthy clients often meet with family lawyers prior to marriage to discuss what would happen upon the possible dissolution of marriage,” says Kessler, who has represented Cardi B, Nene Leaks, Cam Newton, and T-Pain. “Part of the discussion usually entails the discussion of a potential prenuptial agreement. But other matters can be discussed, such as what would happen to my money if there was no prenuptial agreement? Or are there other methods of asset preservation? And it is indeed smart to meet with a divorce lawyer before a marriage, especially in this case where there have been prior marriages and divorces and she wants to likely avoid some of the problems that may have happened in an earlier marriage or divorce.”
Kessler also says that, typically, “Prenuptial agreements and negotiations, especially for high-profile clients, often exceed $10,000 per side. If everyone is in full agreement (like where everyone says we each keep our own stuff, no matter when or how we acquire(d) it), the cost can be closer to $5,000, depending on the jurisdiction and the rates of the lawyers.”
He adds, “Often it is one minor disagreement that causes costs to rise. For instance, many high-profile clients may spend hours negotiating what will happen if one party cheats, sort of an ‘adultery penalty.’ The more the negotiations go back and forth, the higher the cost. We have had prenuptial agreements cost over $100,000, but that is rare.”
What have both parties said about the recent rumors?
Trawick himself has told Extra’s Billy Bush, in so many words, that he never got married to Britney.
“I believe you would have known if I was married,” Trawick texted to Billy, “but you would have made a perfect usher.”
Representatives for Spears declined to comment.
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