Supermarket newsstands. TV shows. Newspaper reports. It’s hard to avoid the news about Britney Spears getting hitched to fiance Kevin Federline in a surprise ceremony in Studio City, Sept. 18. What you may not know, however, is who Federline is and how he managed to marry one of pop culture’s most famous women.
Federline has one of the most sought-after jobs for anyone wanting to date a famous singer. He’s a backup dancer. After incredibly famous women such as Janet Jackson, LeAnne Rimes and Jennifer Lopez married unknown backup dancers, it only seemed natural that Spears would follow the trend. She isn’t even the only pop princess to find love grooving behind her. Rival Christina Aguilera dated backup dancer Jorge Santos for two years before breaking it off in 2001. Even Justin Timberlake fell for Jenna Dewan, a backup dancer for *NSYNC, shortly after his breakup with Spears.
But Federline isn’t Spears’ first taste of backup dancer love. Her messy 2002 breakup from Timberlake was sparked by rumors that she cheated with dancer/choreographer Wade Robson, which is still just speculation. Shortly after, she had a fling with backup dancer Columbus Short. They were spotted making sweet music together for a short time, despite the fact that Short was married and reportedly expecting a child.
Fast forward to April 2004. Four months after her infamous Las Vegas nuptials to childhood friend Jason Alexander, Spears and Federline made their first public appearance at a beach in LA’s Pacific Palisades area. No one knew at the time
who Federline was, but that changed quickly as his history was plastered all over the pages of Us Weekly and People magazines — including the fact that he had a pregnant girlfriend at the time, who he had a two-year-old child with. Regardless, the relationship blossomed and turned into an engagement this July.
But with all the hoopla, reports are surfacing that this marriage was a hoax. According to Us Weekly, this “wedding” was a fake, partially because the two “newlyweds” couldn’t come to an agreement on the prenuptial details. They say they hold a document that states: “Britney Spears and Kevin Federline… agree that they intend to participate in a ‘faux’ wedding on September 18, 2004; however, they do not intend to and shall not validly marry one another on said date.”
People magazine, however, got the exclusive on both the engagement and the wedding, and they stick by the story that this is the real deal. Federline even told People: “Basically, those reports that we didn’t legally wed are bullshit.”
Spears added: “I’m really upset that somebody someplace decides to write a false headline about a special day that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl. It’s too bad. I don’t understand the thinking
behind it.”
Why would Spears fake her own wedding anyway? Well, there are circumstances that could possibly indicate this was a publicity stunt. It just so happened that’s Spears’ newest single, “My Perogative,” a cover of the song Bobby Brown made famous in 1988, recently hit the radio. Even more suspicious is that the video for the song, which shows Spears and Federline exchanging vows, was released on MTV’s “Total Request Live” two days before the “real” wedding took place. And, her new scent for Elizabeth Arden, Curious, hit stores the day before she and Federline tied the knot. Talk about a weekend packed full of much-needed publicity.
Regardless of what really took place that Saturday night, here’s hoping that they are truly happy. Although relationships between stars and their backup dancers haven’t had the best track record, maybe Spears and Federline can show everyone that marriage isn’t a joke. But until legitimate proof of the nuptials surfaces, the joke could be on us.

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