Britney Spears files for divorce

Britney Spears is to divorce her husband, it was announced yesterday.

The pop princess filed for divorce from rapper Kevin Federline at the Los Angeles County Superior Court citing ”irreconcilable differences.”

Spears, 24, married Federline, 28, in 2004.

They have a one-year-old son, Sean Preston, and an infant son Jayden James who was born on September 12. The divorce papers identify the baby as Jayden James Federline.

In the divorce papers, which do not mention a prenuptial agreement, Spears asks for custody of the couple’s two children, with visitation rights for Federline.

Spears’ declaration that she and Federline had no community assets indicate the pair had a prenuptial agreement and do not want to disclose to the court their divorce settlement, said Leon Bennett, a divorce attorney.

The filing also stated the marriage occurred on October 6, 2004, a few weeks after a widely covered wedding ceremony.

Federline at the time explained the two ceremonies by saying that the couple had moved the wedding date up to throw off the media, but doing so did not give their lawyers time to finish their prenuptial agreement.

Spears married Federline eight months after ending a 55-hour Las Vegas marriage to her childhood friend, Jason Alexander. Her second marriage has provided endless fodder for tabloids, which have speculated frequently that the union was in trouble.

Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, issued a statement declining comment.

“There is no statement at this time as requested by Mark’s client, Kevin Federline,” said Michael Sands, spokesman for Kaplan.

The filing came a day after Spears, back in shape after the birth of her second child, made asurprise appearance on David Letterman’s “Late Show” in New York by popping up behind him as he was sitting at his desk.

Born in Kentwood, Louisiana, in 1981, Spears got her first taste of fame at age 11 when she joined the “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” TV show. Her fellow Mouseketeers included future superstars Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera.

Five years after leaving the show she released her debut album, Baby One More Time. In a video for the title track, Spears dressed provocatively in a school uniform and cemented her reputation as a sex symbol.