Amid news that Britney Spears’ husband Sam Asghari has filed for divorce, the details of their alleged prenup are under scrutiny.
Reports have emerged suggesting Asghari has filed to legally separate from Spears after 14 months of marriage. TMZ and People magazine reported that the couple had separated while Associated Press cited a source close to Asghari confirming the news.
Newsweek has reached out to Spears and Asghari’s representatives for comment via email.
Multiple sources claim to have details about their prenuptial agreement which would prevent Asghari from touching Spears’ fortune, but as a divorce expert told Newsweek, “prenuptial agreements are contracts and contracts can be renegotiated.”
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Octavia Spencer jokingly commented on their engagement photo in 2021, telling Spears to get a prenup, and the comment resurfaced after the news of the couple’s imminent breakup.
The Daily Mail has reported that Spears and Asghari signed an “iron-clad prenuptial agreement” when they got married that protected her alleged $60 million fortune. Us Weekly reported, citing an insider, that under the terms of the prenup, Asghari would be entitled to $1 million per every two years of the marriage. If accurate, at this point, that would mean Asghari might receive far less than $1 million.
Evan D. Schein, the head of litigation at New York City-based law firm Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein, shared his take on the couple’s situation with Newsweek. “There will be a lot of discussion surrounding any prenuptial agreement that was signed when the couple got married. Prenuptial agreements are contracts and contracts can be renegotiated. However, it is not that simple, especially when it comes to divorce and the emotions and financial stakes involved.”
Schein told Newsweek: “Both parties to the initial prenuptial agreement must agree to modify it and any subsequent agreement modifying the original terms should be in the same form as the original prenuptial agreement with all the requirements to make it a valid, binding, and enforceable contract.”
There is speculation online as to why the couple may be separating. Neither party has publicly addressed the alleged divorce. Spears’ most recent post on social media was an Instagram photo on Wednesday evening about getting a new horse.
Spears has been a famous global popstar for decades, having embarked on several world tours and releasing millions of albums. In comparison, Asghari is an actor and model who has enjoyed moderate success for a shorter amount of time. The perceived difference in their lifetime earnings would likely be a motivating factor in a signed prenup.
“Often, the financially weaker party will try and wriggle out of these agreements but it is becoming increasingly hard to do so,” British lawyer Nick Manners told Newsweek. The partner and family department expert at the U.K.-based law firm Payne Hicks Beach acknowledged that the situations would vary from state to state in the U.S.
“In England, if a prenup is signed and a divorce later commences, so long as various legal safeguards are in place (such as financial disclosure, separate legal advice) and the document is substantively fair (i.e. no one is left penniless), then the parties are highly likely to be stuck with it,” Manners said, drawing a comparison between the U.K. and the U.S.
He added, “Of course, parties can renegotiate the terms by agreement, but both must consent to this.”
American lawyer Schein discussed the ways in which the two parties can actually change a contract after they’ve been signed.
“Depending on the complexity of a prenuptial agreement, it can often resolve some or many issues in a divorce proceeding,” Schein said. “While many divorcing couples reference the prenuptial agreement to enforce the terms, one spouse in the divorce may choose to provide more financial support than otherwise obligated to under the prenuptial agreement terms. While the prenuptial agreement and the initial terms may very well be enforceable, there is nothing to prevent someone from offering more in a divorce proceeding.”
Spears has been married twice before Asghari, marrying Jason Allen Alexander in 2004, though that marriage was annulled days later, and to Kevin Federline later in 2004.
The pair were married for almost three years before finalizing their divorce in 2007. Under the terms of their divorce, Spears has reportedly been paying Federline alimony for years.
At the time, Federline’s attorney Michael Sands said in a statement: “The parties signed an agreement which was a global settlement on all issues of their marriage and child custody.” Multiple reports from this time suggested Federline received over $1 million after their divorce as well as hundreds of thousands in child support since then. He was awarded custody of their two sons, Jayden and Sean.
According to TMZ, Spears was paying Federline $20,000 a month in child support, as well as tuition fees, school costs, and funds for extracurricular activities. In 2018, Page Six reported that Federline wanted $60,000 a month, though this was rejected by Spears and her father Jamie Spears who was her conservator at the time.
In September 2018, The Daily Mail reported that Spears had agreed to pay more towards child support, although the exact sum was undisclosed.