Topline
Sam Asghari filed for divorce from pop superstar Britney Spears on Thursday after just over a year of marriage, fueling unverified speculation over the singer’s alleged infidelity and his desire to contest the couple’s prenuptial agreement.
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are getting divorced.
Key Facts
According to multiple news reports, Asghari’s petition cites “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for the divorce—it is the most common reason given in California—and states the couple separated on July 28.
The filing also states Asghari, an Iranian-American fitness trainer, model and actor, is seeking spousal support from his estranged wife, as well as attorneys’ fees for the divorce.
The request for spousal support has fueled speculation Asghari is planning to challenge his prenuptial agreement with Spears, which reportedly protects what the singer made before the marriage and precludes payouts or spousal support.
Brandon Cohen, a representative for Asghari, dismissed claims his client would be contesting the prenup as “false” in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Asghari has “no negative intention” towards Spears and “has always and will always support her,” Cohen said.
Spears has reportedly retained top divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, according to Varsity, who has represented the likes of Kim Kardashian, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp and worked with Spears following the end of her marriage to Kevin Federline.
What We Don’t Know
According to the divorce filing, the value of Spears’ and Asghari individual and joint assets has not yet been determined.
What We Don’t Know
California is a “no fault” divorce state and parties do not need to make a case or assign blame to justify separating. The precise reasons behind Asghari and Spears’ separation are not known, though speculation over the couple has run rampant in recent months, particularly after being spotted in public without wedding rings and amid unverified reports suggesting the couple have been arguing heavily. There are also numerous reports—all unverified—of infidelity from both parties. Other unverified reports claim Asghari was threatening to release compromising and embarrassing information about Spears unless the prenup—which reportedly includes a confidentiality clause—was amended. Cohen dismissed allegations Asghari was planning to “exploit his ex-wife with videos” as “false.”
Crucial Quote
“After 6 years of love and commitment to each other my wife and I have decided to end our journey together,” Asghari wrote on an Instagram post on Thursday after news of the divorce broke. “We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always,” he added. “Shit happens. Asking for privacy seems ridiculous so I will just ask for everyone including media to be kind and thoughtful.
News Peg
News of Asghari and Spears’ separation and divorce broke on Thursday. The couple wed in June 2022 after getting engaged in September 2021 but they had reportedly been together for much longer after meeting in 2016. The wedding was an intimate but star-studded affair in Los Angeles, with guests including Paris Hilton, Madonna, Donatella Versace, Drew Barrymore and Selena Gomez. It came after years of legal battles for Spears trying to free herself from a conservatorship that governed most financial and personal affairs, which restricted her ability to enter into legal agreements like marriage. Spears claimed the conservatorship, a legal mechanism where a court-appointed guardian makes decisions on behalf of someone, was exploitative and abusive and a judge approved its termination after nearly 14 years in late 2021. Asghari and Spears, who said she could not remove a contraceptive device while under the conservatorship, announced they were expecting a “miracle baby” in April 2022 but shortly after shared news she had suffered a miscarriage. Spears’ marriage to Asghari is the singer’s third after a short-lived entanglement of less than three days to her childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004 and a two-year marriage with dancer Kevin Federline, with whom she has two sons.
Tangent
Britney has not commented on the divorce publicly but has shared a series of cryptic Instagram posts after news of the split broke. Two feature closeups of art with vague captions. Another, her first post breaking her silence, announced she was “buying a horse soon” and was accompanied with a photo of the singer riding a horse on a beach.
Further Reading
Britney Spears And Sam Asghari Reportedly Split After One Year Of Marriage (Forbes)
A Timeline of Britney Spears and Sam Asghari’s Relationship (NYT)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/08/18/prenups-and-spousal-support—what-we-know-about-britney-spears-and-sam-asgharis-divorce/