FILE – Britney Spears and Sam Asghari appear at the Los Angeles premiere of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” on July 22, 2019. Asghari has filed for divorce from Spears, a person familiar with the filing said late Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
After tying the knot with Britney Spears in June last year, actor-fitness trainer Sam Asghari has filed for divorce, per several media outlets.
In its report, AP News wrote that someone “close to Asghari but not authorized to speak publicly” had confirmed the news, while TMZ noted that the “Black Monday” actor specified “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of the filing.
Furthermore, AP News — upon checking “court records in Los Angeles and Ventura counties” — said such records don’t hold information regarding where the petition was submitted.
TMZ also reported that the 29-year-old Iranian-American actor identified July 28 as their “date of separation.” The same report stated that Asghari is requesting “spousal support and attorneys fees,” and on top of this, TMZ wrote that Neal Hersh, Asghari’s attorney, “is making rumblings that Sam will contest the prenup.”
A source had previously informed Page Six last year, following their wedding, about the couple signing a prenup in the Grammy Award winner’s favor. “Any money she made before the wedding is protected,” the source said.
Prior to reports on the divorce filing, entertainment news outlets had reported the pair’s split, which involved allegations of cheating.
According to sources that spoke to TMZ, a major confrontation between the couple recently took place, following cheating rumors that reached Asghari. One of the sources they’ve spoken to claimed, “It’s only a matter of time before Sam files for divorce.”
Meanwhile, a source told Entertainment Tonight that the “Baby One More Time” singer has maintained that she had not been unfaithful. “She’s adamant she didn’t cheat,” said the source of Spears.
Another source relayed to the media outlet that the pair — who became Instagram official, via Spears’ post, in January 2017 — had already gone through “issues on and off” prior to tying the knot.
“Their arguments have led them to become unhappy at times in their relationship. They are also on different pages when it comes to their future as a couple, which has been a point of contention,” the same source shared.
A little over two months ago, Asghari marked their first anniversary on his Instagram Stories, through which he shared moments from the day they said their “I dos.” Looking back on the year that had passed, he wrote, “One year married to the woman of my dreams. Happy anniversary my Love.” In the same month, Spears was still posting snaps with her husband, which remained on her social media account, as of this writing.
Following reports of their separation, the “Toxic” hitmaker earlier posted about “[b]uying a horse soon” on her Instagram page.
In 2016, Spears and Asghari met during the filming of the music video for the former’s single “Slumber Party,” which featured singer Tinashe. The “PBC” actor, in an interview, shared that he was personally picked by the singer-actress to portray her love interest in the music video. The pair revealed their engagement in September 2021.
Spears married Asghari at her home in Thousand Oaks, California, on June 9, 2022 in front of guests including Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton and Madonna, in a wedding seen as a milestone in her newly reclaimed life after the dissolution just six months earlier of the court conservatorship that controlled her life for more than 13 years.
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari. Image: Instagram/@samasghari
The 41-year-old Spears, who shares two boys, Sean and Jayden, with former husband Kevin Federline, announced in April 2022 that she is expecting her third child. She would, unfortunately, announce after a month, that they had lost their “miracle baby early in the pregnancy.”
On November 12, 2021, a California judge rendered a decision terminating Spears’ parents’ 13-year conservatorship of her $60 million estate and her person, ending over a decade of bitter legal battle between them amid a groundswell of support for the popstar to regain her freedom in the backdrop of the #FreeBritney movement.
However, a key question on whether the Los Angeles Judge Brenda Penny might require Spears to undergo a mental health evaluation, a step often taken before ending a conservatorship, had not been made.
The conservatorship was set up and overseen by the singer’s father after she had a public breakdown and underwent treatment for undisclosed mental health issues. Under the termination agreement, assets overseen by the conservatorship were moved to a trust.
As Asghari is eyeing the entirety of Spears’ assets and not just their prenup agreement for spousal settlement, the issue of the singer’s trust fund may come to the fore. EDV