After weeks of rumors, it is now official: Britney Spears has split from "The X Factor" U.S. and fiancé Jason Trawick. She is also reportedly considering doing a Las Vegas concert residency. Several sources, including The Hollywood Reporter and Us Weekly, said that "The X Factor" essentially fired Spears (she was not going to be asked back on the show), but there have been other reports (such a on TMZ) saying that she quit. On January 11, 2013, Spears released a statement saying that she decided to leave the show and that she was going to be busy recording her next album.
The statement reads: "I made the very difficult decision not to return for another season. I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it's time for me to get back in the studio. Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can't wait to get back out there and do what I love most."
Spears and Demi Lovato joined "The X Factor" U.S. in May 2012, as replacements for fired judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger. Representatives for "The X Factor" U.S. are not commenting on any changes that will be made to the show in 2013. For now, Simon Cowell is the only judge guaranteed to return in 2013. Antonio "L.A. Reid" quit the show in December 2012 because he said he wanted to have more time to focus on his main job as chairman/CEO of Epic Records.
On "The X Factor" U.S., Spears had mentored the Teens category (for solo singers ages 12 to 16). The highest-ranking contestant in that category was 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar, who came in second place on the show in 2012.
As for Spears' breakup with Trawick, various tabloids predicted it would happen. There had been ongoing media reports that the couple had serious problems in their relationship for months. In December 2012, another rumor spread that Spears and Trawick would break up in early 2013 after her "X Factor" duties were completed.This rumor has turned out to be true.
Spears, Trawick and Spears' publicist Jeff Raymond announced the breakup in statements that were released first to People. Raymond said, "Britney Spears and Jason Trawick have mutually agreed to end their one-year engagement. As two mature adults, they came to the difficult decision to go their separate ways while continuing to remain friends." Spears commented, "Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement. I'll always adore him and we will remain great friends." Trawick added, "As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever."
A source confirmed to the Mail Online (the Daily Mail's website) that Spears and Trawick (her former agent) have also split up when it comes to her career. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Spears has changed agencies: She has left William Morris Endeavor and signed with Creative Artists Agency. She is still represented by manager Larry Rudolph, who is said to be looking into having Spears do a Las Vegas concert residency at one of the Caesars hotel properties that would pay her millions, according to TMZ. Spears is in "serious talks" to do this residency, a source told the tabloid website. Celine Dion, Cher, Elton John and Shania Twain have all done residencies at Caesars in Las Vegas.
Trawick, 41, and Spears, 31, began dating in 2009 and got engaged in December 2011. Although some tabloids reported that Spears and Trawick were getting married in December 2012 or early 2013, the former couple never announced any wedding plans.
There is no official word yet if Trawick will continue to be Spears' co-conservator for her personal affairs, but TMZ is reporting that Trawick is no longer her co-conservator and that they waited to announce their breakup until after Trawick was legally removed as her co-conservator. As previously reported, Spears wanted Trawick removed her co-conservator, according to Radar Online.
Because of Spears' psychiatric problems, in 2008, she was placed under a conservatorship headed by her father. In April 2012, Trawick became her co-conservator for her personal affairs, while her father remained the conservator for her business affairs.
Even though Trawick officially quit as Spears' agent in 2010, he reportedly led the negotiations for Spears to become a judge on "The X Factor," and he was one of the people pushing for her to take the "X Factor" job, which paid Spears a reported $15 million in 2012. Radar Online reported that Spears had to get special permission from a conservatorship judge to take "The X Factor" job because of questions about whether or not she was mentally fit for this type of work. It is widely believed that Trawick became her co-conservator so he could have more legal and financial control over Spears' life.
An unnamed source told Radar Online: "The relationship has been more than slightly rocky in the past few months and Brit attributes that to having her man essentially being one of her babysitters."
Despite her reported $15 million "X Factor" salary, Spears' stint on "The X Factor" U.S. was disastrous. Ratings for the show dropped 25 percent after Spears joined the show, she got mostly negative reviews from critics for being boring, trite and repetitive, and she massively polarized viewers. Numerous people also ridiculed her many uncomfortable/negative facial expressions on the show and her habit of over-using the word "amazing."
The Spears/Trawick relationship has been the subject of a lot of gossip, some of it true and some of it false. Tabloids and various blogs reported conflicting stories that Spears and Trawick were either breaking up or getting married in 2012. (The breakup or wedding didn't happen that year.)
Spears has been married twice. Her quickie 2004 marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander was annulled two days after the ceremony. She has two sons with second ex-husband Kevin Federline, whom she was married to from 2004 to 2007. She and Federline had a bitter custody battle over their children. She lost custody of the kids to Federline in 2007, but she has visitation rights.
Representatives for Spears have denied tabloid stories that Trawick was physically abusive and unfaithful to Spears.
In addition to being in talks for a Las Vegas concert residency, Spears is considering doing a sitcom, even though she has been slammed by critics for her acting abilities. Her first starring role in a movie was in 2002's "Crossroads," which was an embarrassing flop. She has had guest-starring roles on TV shows such as "Will & Grace," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Saturday Night Live."
A source told Radar Online: “Britney’s manager, Larry Rudolph, is reading television scripts that the singer could accept. Britney’s dad, Jamie, feels that having his daughter on a sitcom would be a good fit for her. Britney needs to be kept busy, and a structured environment such as a television sitcom would be a natural fit for her. She actually has very natural comedic talents and is very funny, in an airhead sort of way."
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