Kevin Federline was "mortified" when Britney Spears was placed under a conservatorship.
The 40-year-old pop star was placed under an arrangement that gave her father Jamie control over her medical, financial, and other decisions back in 2008 following a public breakdown and former backing dancer Kevin - who she was married to from 2004 until 2007 - "still feels bad" about the decision.
He said: "I was mortified for her. I really was. I still feel bad."
The '...Baby One More Time' hitmaker - who is now married to actor Sam Asghari, 28, but has sons Sean, 16 and Jayden, 14, with her ex-husband - was eventually freed from the arrangement in November 2021 after a lengthy court battle but Kevin has now alleged he "couldn't get involved" because he had been granted full custody of their children.
Speaking in a teaser for an upcoming interview on '60 Minutes', he added: "The boys, the boys, the boys. I had to worry about them and I couldn't get involved. [I was] keeping my boys safe. It's been a few months since they've actually even seen her."
His comments come just days after it emerged that both Jayden and Sean did not accept their mother's invitation to her recent nuptials back in June and that her youngest did not think it was a "good idea" because Britney had failed to invite her parents and sister to the ceremony.
Jayden said: "At the time it just wasn't a good time to go. I'm not saying that I'm not happy for her. I'm really happy for them, but she didn't invite the whole family, and then if it was just going to be me and Preston, I just don't see how that situation would have ended on good terms."
Kevin's interview on '60 Minutes Australia' is set to air on Sunday 4 September on Nine Network.