Almost everyone wants to be a celebrity; to go on stage and have everyone scream their name and have women and men throw their garments on-stage in the hopes that they might catch one of them and bless them with awesomeness. Some of us want to move on the streets and have people ogle at us and squeal ‘Dominique!’ or some other fancy name. We adore and abhor fame all in one breath.

It is not surprising to hear a woman say just how much she can’t stand seeing the curvy look of Kim Kardashian and how she hates people with a big booty, and then find the same woman behind her keyboard busy googling ‘how to make my booty bigger in five days!’

Celebrities are our escape portal; they are what lift our spirits up on those lonely cold nights when everyone else seems to have deserted us. For those who are broke, watching Khloe shop makes them feel like they are rich and doing the shopping.

What no one tells us (unless we go through the gossip columns) is that behind closed doors, these celebrities go through madness, incomparable to anything that we may go through. Their troubles are worse than ours, even though we mat be faced with the house payment being late at the same time as the electricity bill being due. No. These celebrities go through the kind of heck that fiction is made of.

In 2008, Britney Spears had a mental breakdown where she shaved off her hair and then started donning a pink hairdo. Amidst all this drama, she forgot she had kids! All this was too much and the courts decided she was incapable of taking care of her own life and put her under the conservatorship of a lawyer, Andrew M.Wallet and her father, Jamie Spears.

According to Courts, when a judge decides to appoint a responsible person to look after another adult, it is called a conservatorship. The conservatorship gave her parents the right to make her follow the following 15 rules.

15 Her Parents Dictate Where She Can Live

Most of us cannot wait to turn 18 so that we can go out there and live on our own. Choosing that first studio apartment fills us with such joy and pride. At a certain age, we begin to require a little privacy and living with our parents does not provide that. Paying our own rent and the independence of deciding what TV to buy and what sofa to buy or the color of our own drapes is quite thrilling. That first pizza in our own house and the first cup of coffee in the morning feels sweeter than anything we could have had in our parents’ home. It is not many people who are over the age of thirty that continue to live under their parent's thumb and most kids who are celebrities even own their own homes. Getting an emancipation order is a common thing with celebrities.

According to the New York Times, in 2007, after she lost custody of her children, she decided a parking lot was a fitting home for her. Under Britney’s conservatorship, where Britney lives is her father's decision. She cannot just get up and decide to go live in Timbuktu without her father’s permission.

14 What She Eats Is No Longer Her Decision

There are those days when a person wakes up with a hankering for pizza or a burger. There are days when all one wants to eat is a packet of popcorn. Then there are those days when a woman wakes up and feels fat and bloated and all she wants to do is go on that crazy no wheat and no carbs diet that leaves her feeling weak in the knees, but gives results in under a month.

Unfortunately for Britney, these kinds of decision are made by her parents. What she eats and what she does not eat is dictated by her parents as per the court orders. Even though this is normally a preserve of the aged and the people who are unwell mentally, her dependence on a certain antidepressant probably made her make bad decisions as far as her meals are concerned.

It is now her parent's decision what she eats, when and how. Even though some of us hate making a meal plan or making the decision on what to eat or not to, sometimes a grownup does want to eat a tomato and go to sleep. Having that right taken from us can be devastating, to say the least.

13 She Can't Hangout With Just Anyone

A conservatorship is not a thing the courts dish out without real cause. Even though most celebrities have a breakdown, all they do is book themselves into a rehab for some time until they feel their issues are sorted.

Conservatorships are normally prescribed to the elderly and those who are mentally incapacitated. Most people considered Britney’s conservatorship to be unfair and as a result, most set out to rescue her from it.

According to the New York Times, to keep her on track, Britney’s father dictates who she can and cannot see and he does this with an aggressive zeal.

This enthusiasm is meant to ensure that nothing threatens her newfound stability. In this endeavor, a former business manager and a lawyer were served with restraining orders after they tried to intervene on Britney’s behalf. Britney’s parents also dictate who she can and cannot date and a former boyfriend was not spared when he was served with restraining orders.

Even the ‘free Britney campaigns’ of 2009 did not escape Mr. Spear’s wrath. The instigator John Miller, received a call from Britney’s father threatening to shut down his website. He was gracious though and he said, “It was a really volatile situation, and they were trying to protect her.”

12 Dad Manages All Her Money

If a person has a history of mental breakdown or emotional issues, some of the decisions they make are either erratic or too impulsive. It is not unheard of to hear someone buy a golden horse to gift a friend. Of course, this is where the person in question has the money. People go as far as to donate all their earning and assets to a charity or to random strangers, or even their cats. Conservatorship is meant to help safeguard a person from such random behaviors and in Britney Spears case, her father is in charge of managing her finances. A point in poor judgment in her case is the restaurant she ran in 2002 and named it NYLA.

Businesses do not pick up overnight and it is customary to give it a pickup period to see how it does. In her case, she closed it up after six months citing mismanagement. With management, if one does not deliver we fire and hire a new one, but Britney chose to throw out the baby and the bathwater. According to MTV she wished the new owners success and moved on. It is decisions like this that solidify the need for the rule,s as it would appear her emotions are quite unstable and a little help won't hurt.

11 She Doesn’t Pay Her Own Bills

There are bills and then there are bills. Britney's bills are made up of an average man’s lifetime earnings. According to the Huffington Post, Britney spent a whopping $7 million to purchase things like her grooming and wardrobe, which came to a total of over $33,000 not to mention manicures. For her conservators, theirs is a full-time job because even though she can spend money, her bills are paid by her father. This can be a very awkward situation for any girl because that thong one admires goes under her father's scrutiny and chances are he will balk at spending $800 for a thong! Some questions are best kept in the dark and this we believe is by far the worst side of a conservatorship.

The good news is that no amount of spending can dent her earnings and the more she spends the more she makes and it appears she is doing much better these days.

She is making enough to last her and her children a lifetime and with her father’s help, she has managed to make some good investments.

Our Baby One More Time idol has come a long way and hers is a success story we wish to keep reading about and re-reading as she appears to have finally found her happy place.

10 Not Allowed To Appear Before A Judge

No one likes to go before a judge. Even when one is sure she has done nothing wrong, the grilling can be overwhelming and that is the reason most of us send our lawyers to deal with such legal matter. Britney, according to ABC news 7 was sued by the company Brand Sense Partners, together with her father in relation to a licensing agreement concerning one of their fragrances. She was summoned before a judge, but her father and her lawyers categorically refused and said that she was not emotionally stable enough to appear before a judge.

The fragrance lawyers argued that Britney was capable of testifying since by then she was taking care of her children and making a lot of public appearances. She was even on a tour that would take her across the world. Britney's lawyer categorically stated that she was not capable of giving testimony. She got support from retired Judge Goetz who ruled that Britney was not mentally fit and was too fragile to testify. This assertion has taken years, but her lawyers did agree to a deposition. Probably, if she had control over her life, she would consent to appear before the judge and perhaps some of these issues would have been resolved.

9 Can't Buy Anything Without Consulting Dad First

Britney, was a child star who acted in the Mickey Mouse Club for four years and performed alongside Justin Timberlake, Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling and Christina Aguilera. While the show ran, Britney was tight with Justin Timberlake and this is where her not so stable side came to light. In 2002, she had a toilet seat custom made for her and Justin with hers having Justin’s face printed on it and his had her face. The two toilet seats cost a whopping $21,000 each.

While one may think that this gift is in very bad taste and one would even take offense in being expected to sit on another person’s face as she does her business. Britney thought that her idea was a goldmine. As reported on Screen Rant, Britney told WENN that, “I just couldn’t resist ordering one for me and one for Justin.” She went on to say, “People might consider spending that much on toilet seats excessive, but for us, they are a reminder of how far we’ve come since our days on the Mickey Mouse Club.”

With such impulsive decisions that cost a bundle, it is no wonder that the courts gave the power of financial management to her father. She cannot now buy things like this without consulting her father.

8 Can't Decide Where To Work

Her father has the power to negotiate where she can and cannot work. While most people felt that she was still fragile and needed to concentrate on her family and her health and not in her dwindling career, according to Billboard, in 2012, her father brokered a deal for her to work as a judge on the X Factor.

The deal made her 15 million dollars richer.

With this kind of money and such a suave conservator then we see nothing wrong with it.

This deal helped her get her groove back and she has since been able to reclaim her career and is making even more money. Most critics were of the opinion she is being pushed too hard by her conservator, who they feel was only after her money. However, sometimes the only way to get a person out of a slump is to push them into the fire and her parents have proven that sometimes with our kids' mommy and daddy do indeed know best. Even though her father was a failure in his own life, when it came to her life, he seems to have gotten his act together and has pulled her out of the pit.

7 Even That Top Needs Approval

Mr. Spears is even in charge of what kind of clothing Britney wears. After her rant and total break down, this is somewhat understandable. However, for a father who apparently has no qualms about his kids going around the house all ‘natural,' then this is probably a tall order.

In most cases, if a person goes out of their mind, what makes us realize that a person has gone bananas is when they remove their clothes and confidently walk around with not a care in the world. Britney was even sued by one of her security guards years ago for harassment, citing her nudity as an issue.

It would appear Britney had no ulterior motives in her decision to air it all out. She was just doing what comes naturally to her, as a learned behavior in childhood is hard to ditch. While being a nudist is not an issue in the US, it becomes an issue when done in areas that are not set aside for that purpose. One can practice it in their own home as long as it does not offend the sensibility of others and it does not translate to indecent exposure and that is why we wait for a weekend when we are home alone to do it.

6 Dad Is In Charge Of Housekeeping

Most of us are not so hot about housekeeping. For most of us, this is the most boring job and that is why we often hire housekeepers to help with this task. It would appear the rule for Britney is that her father is in charge of the housekeeping. This one is a Godsend for Mr. Spears since Britney and her sister Jamie Lynn are not the best at housekeeping.

Her mother Lynne, wrote in 2002, “Britney went to New York for four days. She and Jenny, her friend, shopped every day. One of those nights, they all came into a real mess. Brit left a candle burning. The wall caught fire and the fire department had to put it out. Brit has really learned a lesson this time.”

Her sister Jamie Lynn also set a fire in a similar way, making this seem like a very freaky coincidence. Candle fires occur quite frequently and candles are a common fire hazard, but when a woman and her sister all set fires in the same manner, then there is something that needs to be done and having the reigns of housekeeping taken away is a prudent thing. It seems like an excellent idea to have someone else around, if not only to pick up and clean but to blow out forgotten burning candles.

5 No Say In How Much She Can Earn

According to Marie-Claire, Britney is set to earn a staggering $200 million, all from one deal with Caesar’s Palace.

It is her father's job to invest her earnings and hers are not peanuts. There have been some fears that the star could be biting off more than she can chew. This is giving people goosebumps considering that this is all happening after she left the X Factor and breaking up with her boyfriend Jason Trawick. These fears are not far-fetched as we can remember that during her custody battle, she overdosed and locked herself and her young son in a bathroom.

It would appear that she has a real fear of being left alone and this could be the reason she immerses herself in her work. This is understandable considering the kind of background she has and where she has come from. At a young age, her mother would push her away and into the hands of strangers. As a woman, our little girls are our treasures and women have been known to kill a man for daring to look at their little girls sideways. In the case of Britney, her mother even encouraged her to sleep with older men. This is bound to destroy any little girl.

4 Her Personal Care Is Also Controlled

Personal care translates to the decision whether to shave your head and don a pink wig or to have a nose job one too many or even have some questionable enhancements that would give your grandmother a hard time in recognizing you when you meet at Christmas. For Britney, her parents dictate what she can and cannot do as far as her personal care is concerned. After she went to rehab and came out with an obvious meltdown where she shaved off her hair and decided to start wearing a pink wig, it became obvious that she was not capable of taking control of her own life in a reasonable and adult way, so someone else had to take over.

While the terms of the conservatorship may be too harsh for this lady, it may be what she needs because she went as far as to forget that she had kids whose custody hearing was going on.

Even though she resisted it at first, she later came to appreciate it, saying it was like living in a bubble where nothing can go wrong and she is freed to do what she loves to do best: spend time with her kids and focus on her music.

3 What’s Your Ride?

The best rules set out for Britney to follow are the ones where she cannot just go out and buy stuff. For a woman who can show her immensely bad taste and buy a toilet seat for $21,000, it probably isn’t a good idea to give her leeway to buy a vehicle. During her meltdown, transportation for her meant driving at neck-breaking speeds. This apparent self-harming tendency could be explained as she was in the middle of a custody battle with her then-husband, Kevin Federline. However, some of the reins on her conservatorship have been loosened and she does appear to have gotten better and seems to be on track.

Most mothers worry about their children and the maternal instinct is always to protect the helpless kids. It is quite rare to find a woman who has two children who decide to go on a high-speed road chase. Most of us are worried about the care our kids would receive if anything untoward happens to us. Her two children are the reason why she may welcome not making this one decision, even if she may be tempted to get on a Harley and go see the desert. Even the maintenance of her vehicles is a preserve of her father.

2 Every Day, Same Time

The celebrity lifestyle we admire and dream of is not all that. Celebrities are celebrated but only in the light of day. Every celebrity is used to calling out to her housekeeper or assistant in the morning for her morning coffee and from that point on, her life is catered to. Every whim met and the minute she steps out, every commoner stares at her with adoration and the number of people willing to do crazy things in her name is astounding.

The sad thing is, when darkness falls, all these fans go home and the celebrity is left on her own. A celebrity has many friends, but when it hits the fan, most of these friends disappear into thin air.

The celebrity is alone at night and that is when their demons wake up. Britney was always unstable and the situation was aggravated by her indulgence in substance abuse. This combination is deadly and it is what contributed to her breakdown in 2008 and her prescription for a certain antidepressant. Taking medication is never a pleasant thing, but Britney was so far gone that her father has to now tell her when to take her meds.

1 Daddy Has to Sign Off On Everything

Doctors know what a patient needs and what is best for that patient, or do they? Sometimes, a doctor may prescribe a harsh medication that a patient could do without or a very expensive one when the alternative generic meds work just as well. Celebrity doctors charge an arm and a leg and even more-so when they know that the person in question is Britney Spears.

In a world where what is worshiped is the almighty dollar, it is a welcome relief for Britney to have to follow the rule that states that her father is in control of her health care. With a history of mental illness, Britney requires a lot more care and she requires someone to ensure that she does not backslide and go back to her wayward ways.

From as early as the age of 18 years, Britney suffered from mental health problems, living through the struggle of poor mental health and panic attacks. In her case, the medications to deal with her mental health are a double-edged sword. Not taking them is bad and taking them in excess is equally bad. The middle ground is where she needs to be. When the medication prescribed to a patient have a chance of being abused and turned into a dependency, then the patient requires some ‘adult’ supervision. Health is paramount and it is the reason the conservatorship exists.

References: HuffingtonPost, MTV, NYtimes, Screenrant, ABC7