When Britney Spears, now 41, started a brief but passionate romance with 47-year-old Irish actor Colin Farrell, she was still processing the fallout from her split from Justin Timberlake.
In her recently published memoir, “The Woman in Me,” Spears explores this well-known relationship from 2003, revealing that it started after her split from Timberlake in March 2002.
The singer of “Piece of Me” claims that she first met the actor while he was filming the action thriller “S.W.A.T.” in 2003. Spears uses the term “two-week brawl,” which she used to describe the intensity of her relationship with Farrell, in her book. She continues, “Brawl is the only word for it — we were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight.”
Britney Spears and Colin Farrell’s romance
Britney Spears and Colin Farrell made the decision to go public with their relationship when they were 26 years old. They achieved this by showing up together at the January 2003 premiere of Farrell’s movie “The Recruit,” where Spears went on a date with the actor.
Britney Spears writes in her memoir that she made a conscious effort to control her emotions during her relationship with Colin Farrell. She was still dealing with unresolved feelings for Justin Timberlake, so this presented extra difficulties for her.
She explains her strategy as trying to persuade herself that her relationship with Farrell wasn’t a big deal, that they were just enjoying themselves, and that her vulnerability came from her inability to completely let go of her past with Justin.
Colin Farrell talked to reporters about his relationship with Britney Spears during the premiere. He made it clear that they were just friends and that they weren’t in a romantic relationship, praising the sweetness of the girl. Later, in 2004, Spears wed Kevin Federline for the second time.
The couple had two sons, Sean Preston, then 18 years old, and Jayden James, then 17 years old, before divorcing in 2007. However, Farrell shares a son, Henry (14), with actress Alicja Bachleda-Curuō and a son, James (20), with model Kim Bordenave.
Britney Spears on her 13-year conservatorship
After her 13-year conservatorship ended in 2021, Britney Spears began writing her own story. She disclosed that over the previous 15 years, and even from the beginning of her career, she has allowed others to speak on her behalf and shape her narrative in an email interview with PEOPLE for their cover story.
She is, however, enjoying her newfound freedom to tell her own story without worrying about repercussions from those who once controlled her life after escaping her conservatorship.
More about Britney Spears
Britney Spears is acknowledged for having had a major impact on the late 1990s and early 2000s teen pop revival. She is one of the most successful musicians in the world, having sold over 70 million records in the US alone out of an amazing record of about 150 million records sold worldwide.
Numerous accolades have been bestowed upon Spears, including the first-ever Radio Disney Icon Award, a Grammy Award, fifteen Guinness World Records, six MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards (including the Millennium Award), and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for her elaborately choreographed music videos.
According to Nielsen SoundScan data, Britney Spears is the fourth best-selling female album artist in the United States and the best-selling female album artist of the 2000s. She was listed as the eighth most well-known artist of the 2000s by Billboard. She has five number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 and six number-one albums on the Billboard 200 chart.
Through a brand partnership with Elizabeth Arden, Inc., Britney Spears entered the fragrance business, and by 2012, sales had surpassed $1.5 billion. In both 2001 and 2012, Forbes named her the highest-earning female musician. She was also the most searched-for celebrity on Yahoo! seven times in a twelve-year period, according to their 2012 list.
Time Magazine named Spears one of the 100 most powerful individuals in the world in 2021, and she even won the magazine’s reader poll.
