People has confirmed that Britney Spears’ father Jamie Spears was sent to the hospital with a bacterial illness.
The infection caused the 71-year-old man to become very unwell and need hospitalization; however, he is now receiving treatment at an outpatient center specializing in infectious diseases and is making progress in his recovery. Page Six was the first publication to break the news that Jamie had been admitted to the hospital.
PEOPLE attempted to reach out to a representative of Jamie for comment, but they did not immediately answer.
Within the last several years, Britney’s father has been admitted to the hospital on more than one occasion. In November of 2018, he was “seriously ill” and had to be transported to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, where doctors discovered that his colon had “spontaneously ruptured.” Jamie needed emergency surgery and remained in the hospital for a total of 28 days, as stated in a statement that Britney’s team released at the time and that was acquired by PEOPLE.
According to the statement, “After an extended and complicated post-operative period, he is currently recuperating at home and gaining strength, and it is anticipated that he will make a full recovery.”
“I am dedicating my focus and energy to care for my family,” Britney, who is now 41 years old, continued in the statement that she released at the time. Because our connection is so unique, I feel it is important for me to be with my family through this difficult time, just as they have done for me throughout my life.
Two months later, the singer spoke out about her father’s illness in a post on post X (which was then known as Twitter). In the message, which has since been removed, she revealed that she would be taking an extended vacation from her career and postponing the start of her Domination residency in Las Vegas.
“It is essential that your family comes first in whatever you do… I had no choice but to come to that conclusion,” she wrote in January of 2019. “A few months ago, my father was taken to the hospital and was very close to passing away. We are all overjoyed that he was able to survive it, but he has a very long path ahead of him.
Jamie has a daughter named Jamie Lynn, who is 32 years old, and a son named Bryan, who is 46 years old, with his ex-wife Lynne, who is 68.
Since she was put under a conservatorship in 2008, which lasted over a decade and was dissolved in November 2021, Britney has had a tumultuous relationship with her family. The conservatorship was lifted in November 2021. Her father was removed from his position as the estate conservator of Britney’s estate two months before the conservatorship was set to expire.
The singer best known for her hit “Lucky” shared in May the news that her mother had just paid a visit to her for the first time in three years.
“After three years, my dear mother finally showed up at my doorstep yesterday… It’s been so long since we last spoke… When dealing with relatives, there are always issues that need to be resolved… “but time heals all wounds!!!” she started the caption to her image on Instagram.
Britney followed by saying, “After being able to communicate what I’ve held in for an extremely long time, I feel so blessed we were able to try to make things RIGHT!!! ” while talking about how she felt about the meet-up. I adore you in the deepest possible way!!! Psss… After 14 long years, I still can’t believe we get to hang out and drink coffee together! After that, let’s all go shopping together!!!”
On October 24th, Britney will release her forthcoming autobiography, titled The Woman in Me. Following an announcement made in 2022 that the singer had secured a book contract with the publishing company Simon & Schuster, PEOPLE disclosed the release date in July in an exclusive interview with the publication.