Sam Asghari has denied he will challenge the prenuptial agreement he has with Britney Spears after filing for divorce after 14 months of marriage.
In a statement posted online on Thursday, the model and fitness trainer acknowledged that asking for privacy “seems ridiculous” but asked that the media be “kind and thoughtful”.
In a statement shared on Instagram, Asghari wrote: “After six years of love and commitment to each other my wife and I have decided to end our journey together. We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each and I wish her the best always.
“Shit happens. Asking for privacy seems ridiculous so I will just ask for everyone including media to be kind and thoughtful.”
Court documents filed at a court in Los Angeles on Wednesday cited “irreconcilable differences” for the divorce, and stated that the couple had separated almost three weeks ago.
The filing states that Asghari intends to obtain financial support from Spears and have her pay for his lawyers. The value of Spears’ and Asghari’s assets, and those they own jointly, has yet to be determined, according to the documents.
In a separate statement issued to the Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, a representative for Asghari denied claims made by tabloids that he had allegedly threatened to release unspecified embarrassing materials about Spears unless concessions were made in their prenup.
“There are many claims that Sam is challenging the prenup and threatening to exploit his ex-wife with videos,” Asghari’s representative Brandon Cohen said. “However, all these claims are false, as no negative intention has ever been directed towards her and never will be. Sam has always and will always support her.”
Spears has not addressed the separation publicly, but posted on Instagram on Wednesday, telling fans she was “buying a horse soon”.
The couple tied the knot at a star-studded ceremony at the singer’s home in Thousand Oaks, California in June 2022, which was attended by celebrities including Madonna, Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore and Paris Hilton.
The couple met on the set of a music video in 2016 and dated for years while Spears remained in a conservatorship run by her father. She cited her desire to marry Asghari as among the reasons she wanted an end to the conservatorship, which she said was preventing it. The two announced their engagement in September 2021 as it became clear she would be freed from the conservatorship, which ended that November.
Their marriage was the first for Asghari, 29, and the third for Spears, 41. She married Kevin Federline, with whom she shares two children – Sean and Jayden – in 2004 and divorced him in 2007. She was also married to childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004, but it was annulled after just 55 hours.
Alexander was convicted of misdemeanour trespassing and battery after turning up to the singer’s wedding to Asghari uninvited and refused to leave.
Spears’ memoir, The Woman in Me, is scheduled to be released in October.
Press Association contributed to this report
