Kevin Federline’s newly released memoir reveals he received approximately $1 to $1.3 million from his 2007 divorce from Britney Spears, plus $20,000 monthly in both child support and alimony.
But the timing speaks volumes; his tell-all book dropped in October 2025, just weeks after his final child support payment ended in November 2024.
Britney’s team called it what it looks like: “once again he and others are profiting off her.”
Over their 17-year child support arrangement, Britney paid Kevin an estimated $5.4 million in total, with payments increasing from $20,000 to $40,000 per month in 2018
The revelation lays bare not just the financial mechanics of a celebrity divorce, but a pattern of one party continuing to monetise a relationship long after it ended, but this time through a memoir Britney dismisses as “white lies…going straight to the bank.”
Kevin Federline’s “You Thought You Knew,” released October 21, 2025, arrives with suspicious timing.
Published by Listenin Books as an audio-first release with ghostwriter Alex Holstein, the 176-page memoir hit shelves exactly 11 months after Jayden James, Kevin and Britney’s youngest son, graduated high school in Hawaii, triggering the end of child support on November 15, 2024.
Kevin insists money isn’t the motivation. “Money is not the root of this,” he told Yahoo Entertainment. “This is about me finally coming forward and telling my story, because I’ve stayed quiet for the sake of my family and waited until my kids were old enough to get behind it.”
He describes the book as essential for his sons, now 19 and 18, to know “the actual truth of everything.”
Yet the financial revelations dominate the narrative. While Kevin doesn’t state the exact settlement figure in the memoir, he confirms receiving $20,000 per month in child support for Sean Preston and Jayden James, plus $20,000 per month in spousal alimony for approximately 13 months, half the duration of their 26-month marriage.
Multiple sources, including Reuters, TMZ, and Page Six, report a lump-sum settlement of $1 to $1.3 million, with most citing $1.3 million as the figure from the March 2007 divorce.
The most revealing passages concern money management.
Kevin recalls his lawyer advising him to “put it somewhere safe where it can grow,” specifically suggesting he invest a million dollars.
His response? He didn’t need to “worry about that” because he would “make another million in no time.”
That confidence proved misplaced. “People hear figures like that and think you’re financially set,” Kevin writes. “But the reality is far from that.”
The money “didn’t stretch as far as you’d think” due to expenses: “Raising two young boys in Los Angeles, while maintaining the security and stability they needed, came with a price tag that would make anyone’s head spin.”
He lists rent, transportation, security, childcare and “all the other day-to-day needs of raising two kids in LA.”
Beyond finances, the memoir makes explosive allegations. Britney allegedly used cocaine while breastfeeding, stood in their sons’ bedroom doorway with a knife, and engaged in domestic violence.
These claims have dominated media coverage, though critics note the book reads like “the work of a diligent student in your freshman comp class” and has been a “massive flop” with low Amazon rankings and a Goodreads rating of 2.33 out of 5.
Recap Of Spears And Federline’s Romance
Their whirlwind romance began in April 2004 at Joseph’s nightclub in Hollywood. Kevin Federline was a backup dancer who had worked with Justin Timberlake (Britney’s famous ex), Michael Jackson, Destiny’s Child, and Pink.
Kevin was engaged to actress Shar Jackson, who was pregnant with their second child when he left her for Britney.
After just three months of dating, they got engaged in July 2004. Britney actually proposed first. She later told Ellen DeGeneres that Kevin initially “rejected” her proposal before proposing to her himself.
Their wedding on September 18, 2004, was a surprise. What guests thought was an engagement party at a Studio City residence turned into an actual ceremony, with Britney in a Monique Lhuillier dress and bridesmaids receiving pink Juicy Couture tracksuits embroidered with “The Maids.”
The legal marriage followed on October 6, 2004, and was delayed to finalise their prenuptial agreement. People magazine reportedly paid $1 million for the wedding photos.
Sean Preston Federline arrived on September 14, 2005, just four days before their first wedding anniversary. Born via scheduled C-section at UCLA Medical Centre, Santa Monica, he weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces.
His brother, Jayden James Federline, was born on September 12, 2006, two days before Sean’s first birthday, and delivered by C-section at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre.
The marriage lasted barely longer than it took to create their family. Britney filed for divorce on November 7, 2006, citing “irreconcilable differences” just eight weeks after Jayden’s birth.
Sources reported the final straw was Kevin going to Las Vegas to party with friends, leaving Britney alone with a 1-year-old and a 3-week-old baby.
The divorce was finalised on July 30, 2007, ending a marriage of approximately 26 months.
Prenup Saved Britney Spears Millions
The prenuptial agreement – Kevin describes it as “pretty standard” and “airtight” in his memoir, though he initially resisted. “I wasn’t some bum just sitting around waiting for a check,” he writes, noting he was “out there hustling, grinding, investing [and] working” before their marriage.
The prenup structured financial obligations based on marriage duration thresholds, protecting Britney’s premarital assets while factoring in the length of their marriage.
It is speculated that Britney strategically filed in November 2006, at just over two years of marriage, to avoid triggering larger financial obligations that would have kicked in at three full years. The timing worked in her favour.
The settlement broke down into four components.
First, the lump sum: $1.3 million paid to Kevin, though the Daily Mail reported he would have been entitled to more without that airtight prenup.
Second, child support: $20,000 per month covering both children, with Britney also paying tuition, school costs, and extracurricular activities.
Third, alimony: $20,000 monthly for approximately 13 months, totalling over $260,000. This followed California’s common “half the marriage duration rule”. Since their marriage lasted 26 months, Kevin received spousal support for 13 months.
Fourth, legal fees: $250,000 to cover Kevin’s attorney costs.
The initial custody arrangement was 50/50 joint legal and physical custody. But dramatic changes came in 2007-2008. After Britney was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold in January 2008, Kevin was awarded sole physical and legal custody. This arrangement, meant to be temporary, effectively became permanent.
The original $20,000 monthly child support held steady for over a decade. Then, in May 2018, Kevin filed a request to increase payments to $60,000 monthly ($20,000 per child).
His reasoning was stark: he could no longer compete with Britney’s lavish lifestyle, which included a bigger home, pool house, tennis court, library, and spa, while he earned only $3,000 monthly as a DJ with no health insurance or savings.
Jamie Spears, Britney’s conservator at the time, initially opposed the increase. But in September 2018, they reached an agreement: child support increased to $40,000 per month (total for both children), amounting to $480,000 annually.
The payments continued at $40,000 monthly until August 2024, when Sean Preston turned 18. At that point, child support was reduced to $20,000 per month for Jayden alone. The final payment came on November 15, 2024, after Jayden graduated from high school in Hawaii two months after turning 18 in September.
California law extends child support beyond age 18 if the child hasn’t graduated from high school, but no later than their 19th birthday.
The total over 17 years: approximately $5.4 million in child support payments alone. This breaks down to $2.4 million from 2007-2017 at $20,000 monthly, $2.8 million from 2018-2023 at $40,000 monthly, and $240,000 in 2024 at the reduced rate.
Add the original $1.3 million settlement, $260,000 in alimony, and $250,000 in legal fees, and Britney paid Kevin approximately $7.2 million total over their divorce and child-rearing years.
Britney Spears, with an estimated net worth of $60 million, looked comfortable.
Her income today comes primarily from three sources. First, her memoir generated a $15 million advance plus ongoing royalties; she earns 25% of net profits on over 2 million copies sold.
Second, music royalties continue flowing from her catalogue of 9 studio albums and 100+ million records sold worldwide.
Her 2002 peak saw $40 million in touring and sales; her 2013-2017 Las Vegas “Piece of Me” residency grossed over $130 million at $350,000-500,000 per night.
Third, her real estate holdings include a 21-acre Westlake Village property with a 12,500-square-foot house, purchased in 2015 for $7.5 million and now worth over $10 million.
