At the height of her professional life, Britney Speers met and married former backup dancer Kevin Federline. They had a whirlwind romance for a few months and then found themselves married and soon expecting a child. It went by so fast that we could hardly keep up. She was a pop icon and a lot of people couldn’t believe she fell in love with a boy like Federline. Her marriage, however, only lasted a couple of years before it crumbled, right along with her jobs. It seemed to be the catalyst for all of Spears’ bizarre behavior that changed her life. She was a mess during the times that she was with Federline and it was likely because she got married for the wrong reasons.

The marriage seems like it was forever ago and yet Britney Spears seems to be back on top with her singing life and a hunky boyfriend. Federline did recently ask for more child support, which puts everything between the two of them in perspective. There is a lot to their marriage that we didn’t know or likely forgot but we have it all right here. Check out these 20 things we never knew about Britney Spears and Kevin Federline’s short-lived marriage.

20 They Clicked Immediately When They Met

These two connected immediately when they met during her tour. He wasn’t even her backup dancer, he was there for the band LFO who were opening up for Britney. He probably had no idea his life was about to change drastically. But their connection didn’t start there, it wasn’t until they ran into each other again at a Hollywood club called Joseph’s in 2004. Kevin said it was love at first sight. “I met her at a club in Hollywood,” he said to ET. “Our eyes met and that was it. We just hit it off right away. I learned real fast how much of a whirlwind the press and everything was.”

19 Kevin Wasn’t Solo When They Met

When they started dating, their relationship was not received well by everyone. That was because when Kevin met Britney, he was in a relationship with Shar Jackson who happened to be six months pregnant with his child at the time. Kevin started a relationship with Britney. Shar Jackson was very vocal about her feelings on the subject. Among other comments, Shar Jackson told People. “I know Britney in passing. We’ve run into each other at a couple of events. She knows who I am, she knows I’m his girlfriend.”

18 It Was Britney Who Proposed To Him!

You might be surprised to know that it was Britney that proposed to Kevin and not the other way around! Kevin wouldn’t have been able to buy her an appropriate ring so it made sense for her to propose. It was kind of random — during a flight from Ireland to New York. He declined, probably thinking he didn’t want to be proposed to by a girl but then, a moment later, he proposed to her. “My head was spinning. Oh my God, I was happy,” he said to Entertainment Tonight. “I wasn’t really thinking about asking her right away but I did without reservation. I’d known for a while that she’s the one.”

17 Surprise! The Engagement Party Was Actually The Wedding

Their friends and family all thought that they were attending the couple’s engagement party but it turned out to be a secret wedding instead. We can’t really blame them because the media attention surrounding their wedding planning was pretty intense and it would have been hard to pull off anything private. Just 27 friends and family were invited to the engagement party. Just before the wedding began, the guests were informed that the couple was going to get married instead. The party was a month before their initial plans to get married. Even though there were helicopters hovering, they could not get any pictures of the party.

16 Kevin Federline Had No Income

When Kevin met Britney, he was a backup dancer, but when Britney took time off from her tour, Kevin didn’t go back to work either. So, at the time that they were dating, he didn’t have any income coming which was why he wasn’t out buying an engagement ring. He also had a child with Shar Jackson on the way and had to put support in that direction. Britney started wearing a five-carat rock on two platinum, diamond-encrusted bands and it definitely didn’t come from Federline’s bank account. There is no evidence that Federline worked at all the entire time that he was with Britney...

15 Their Reality Show That Never Worked Out

If you can’t remember a reality show with Britney and Kevin, it’s because it was one of those, blink and you missed it situations. They probably thought they were going to be the next Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson but the show only lasted for five episodes. It was called Britney and Kevin: Chaotic and it went through the brief courtship that the couple had all the way up until their surprise wedding. It wasn’t received well and many critics were saying that Spears was sinking her professionally with the reality series. Spears wanted a chance to show off who she really was to fans but the show didn’t work out.

14 The Media Attention Is Not For Everybody

Kevin Federline may have thought he was in the spotlight as he was growing his professional life but it was nothing compared to what Britney Spears was living in. Federline definitely got a taste of that when he started dating Britney. "That was a whole different lifestyle than I ever imagined," he revealed to Entertainment Tonight. "I mean, just getting around from place to place and having 20 people follow you all day long – your whole life kind of being told through somebody else’s eyes. Everybody wants to put their own spin on it." It sounds like he got a little more than he bargained for.

13 They Couldn’t Stand To Be Apart From Each Other

That’s a pretty normal feeling for two people who are falling in love. You just have that desire to forget everything but each other, at least for a little while. When Britney was falling in love with Kevin, she invited him on your tour to be a backup dancer. At the time, she injured her knee and had to cancel her tour. It was almost the moment when her professional life started to dip down. When she didn’t have a tour to focus on, she devoted all her time to Kevin. She didn’t want to be apart from him and they spent all of their time together.

12 When Two Become Four

Britney had always stated that she wanted to be a young mom which is why it wasn’t very long after the wedding that Britney found herself pregnant with her first son, Sean Preston. He was the child that was photographed on Britney’s lap while she was driving. He wasn’t in his car seat, he was just chilling with mom on her lap. She had her son, Jayden James a year after that. It may have been the fact that they moved fast with every part of their relationship that it ended up crumbling in the end.

11 Being With Britney Was Too Consuming

We already know that he couldn’t really handle the media attention that seemed to follow every aspect of Britney’s life but he went so far as to say that being with her at times was all consuming. "We like, were caught right in the midst of that whole thing," Federline told People. "It was so crazy. I look back at it and it’s like, at times it was so (…)." That wasn’t all he had to say about it either. "That time of my life, there’s so many different, like, pieces missing because of everything that was going on," he confessed to People.

10 You Know What They Say About Matching Tattoos

A lot of couples decide to take the plunge and get matching tattoos but it’s rarely a good idea. In this case, we can be thankful that they didn’t put names on their bodies. Instead, they both got matching dice. It was a way for them to commemorate their wedding vows. Considering that, at the time, at least Spears had millions of dollars, you would think that she would have got a tattoo artist that could do a better job on the tattoos because they are low quality. As of 2016, Spears still had her tattoo even though the couple has been divorced for a while now.

9 Kevin Doesn’t Want To Revisit Their Time Together

No matter what Kevin does, he can’t seem to get away from questions that involved Britney even though the couple hasn’t been together in a long time. The two divorced in 2007 which surprisingly was over 1o years ago. My does time fly. When he was trying to pursue a life as a DJ, he was sitting down for an interview with VLAD TV and the host couldn’t help but ask him about Britney. Federline comment that "revisiting it all the time" wasn't doing "anybody any good." But we still want to know! "Obviously, things didn't work out the way that they were supposed to," Federline said. "But everything's okay, you know, like, life happens."

8 Was Kevin A Star On The Rise, Too?

While married to Spears, Federline took the opportunity to try and spring a music gig of his own. Spears wasn’t doing much at the time, just making babies and avoiding the paparazzi. In 2006, he decided to drop an album of his own but it didn’t do as well as he had hoped. His wife even tried to help out by putting a cameo of herself on the LP. It was titled "Playing With Fire" and fans did not approve of the album at all. That was pretty much as far as his musical lifestyle went.

7 Their Kids Were More Important Than Their Relationship

Sometimes parents focus so much attention on their children, that they forget that nurturing their spouse is just as important. You have to have a healthy and happy marriage first in order to provide a good example to your children. But Federline stated that the children were the most important thing and maybe that’s what went wrong. “It’s hard enough to be in a marriage, and then have a kid, then kids. It changes everything,” Federline told People. “For me, I’d become more concerned with my children. Not that I ignored Britney, but my kids are always most important. … I mean, we were having complications.”

6 What's Done Is Done

Federline claims that he knew that they had issues and he wanted to work them out but that Spears wasn’t really interested. He told People, “I mean, we were having complications. I didn’t give her an ultimatum, but I was trying to work stuff out with her, and she didn’t even talk to me or anything.” Usually, when someone doesn’t want to work things out it’s because they have already emotionally exited the relationship and that is likely what happened with Spears. Sometimes it becomes a “little too late” to fix what’s wrong in a relationship.

5 Wait, What Divorce?!

Federline also claims that he was blindsided by the divorce and didn’t see it coming. She “went behind my back and filed [for divorce]. [I was] completely blindsided,” he told People. What was even worse was that apparently, Spears asked for a divorce via text message. She appeared on the Late Show With David Letterman and went straight to Sony Studios where she faxed her signature to her lawyers and the next day divorce papers were filed. He found out via text while the press started calling him “Fed-Ex.” He was blindsided by the decision and she didn’t really give him much of a choice.

4 She Got Married For The Wrong Reasons

Getting a divorce is bad enough especially if you get blindsided as Federline did. But what’s possibly worse than that is to find out your ex-wife is telling people that she married you for the wrong reasons. She talked about the marriage in a documentary called For The Record and stated that she got married for the wrong reasons. “I think I married for the wrong reasons,” the singer said. “Instead of following my heart and doing something that made me really happy, I just did it for the idea of everything.” She said that things started to crumble when he focused more on his rap facade. “That’s when things got weird,” she said.

3 Federline Doesn’t Regret The Marriage

He may not like talking about the marriage but he has also said that he doesn’t regret the whole thing either. He did get two handsome boys out of the deal and because of the child support, he’s pretty much set for life. He told Access Hollywood, “I mean, it was a good time in my life. We have two beautiful children. The way that everything has turned out, everybody’s happy. Co-parenting is going great. I can’t complain,” he said. “We talk when we need to, and it’s always about the boys – mostly school stuff and making sure we stay on top of that. It’s going great. I’m in a happy place right now.”

2 They Have Both Moved On

These days, Kevin Federline is married to Victoria Prince and has been for six years now which is also a little nuts. Federline often gushes about his wife on social media and one post stated, “I couldn’t have found a better lover, best friend, drinking buddy, teammate, mom, and on … and on.. and on… you are the glue that holds us together,” he wrote in the photo’s caption. Spears has her life back in her hands and has also moved on with her handsome, personal trainer boyfriend. Spears is constantly posting cute videos of her and her beau working out and doing fashion shows together.

1 Is Her Child Support Fair?

Federline is the one that gets paid child support in this scenario. He gets paid $20,000 a month and recently requested that Spears up it to $65,000 a month now that her professional life is back on top. He thinks it’s only fair even though since he hasn’t had a real job in over a decade. He told Entertainment Tonight, "It's not something that I asked for either," he said. "It's all about the kids. That's what it's for...They're supposed to be able to live a life that they're accustomed to. If the shoe was on the other foot, I'd be in those shoes. Smiling and being full-willing."

Sources: ET Online, Cheat Sheet, Too Fab, Yahoo, Fame10, E Online