Everything to Know About Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's Relationship Through the Years

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline have been through their ups and downs over the years, but the former backup dancer is supporting his ex-wife’s decision to take some time for herself.

Amid her father’s recent “life-threatening” health issues, the pop star decided to check in to an “all-encompassing wellness treatment” facility, a source exclusively told PEOPLE this week — and Federline “commends” her for it, according to Entertainment Tonight.

“Kevin commends Britney for recognizing that she needs to take a step back and that she is taking reasonable steps to dealing with her situation in a responsible way,” Federline’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told ET. “He wishes everyone well.”

Kaplan didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Spears, 37, and Federline, 41, who split in 2007, share two sons together: Sean Preston, now 13, and Jayden James, now 12. It is believed the boys are with Federline while Spears is seeking treatment.

Here’s a look back at all the highs and lows the pair have experienced over the years.

Kevin Federline and Britney Spears

Young Love

Spears and Federline, who had previously worked as a backup dancer for Justin Timberlake, met in 2004 — and quickly began a whirlwind romance.

“I met her at a club in Hollywood, Joseph’s. Our eyes met and that was it. We just hit it off right away,” Federline told PEOPLE in 2008. “I was madly in love with her. Everything just seemed so right. I didn’t see it as too fast or too slow.”

That September, nearly three months after they first began dating, Spears, then 22, and Federline, then 26, wed in a surprise ceremony in Studio City, Calif.

Although the couple had originally planned on getting married the following month in a lavish ceremony, they ended up scrapping the idea.

“I just thought it would be too much if we had done it when we were supposed to,” Spears told PEOPLE at the time. “It became this huge thing and I was like, ‘What are we waiting for? We know this is the real thing, why not just do it now?’ That’s why I wanted to sneak and do it our little way.”

Earlier that year, Spears had married childhood pal Jason Alexander in Las Vegas, although their union was annulled after 55 hours.

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline

Starting a Family Together

After tying the knot, Spears and Federline settled into a Malibu mansion and expressed their desires to become parents together. (Federline had previously welcomed daughter Kori Madison, now 16, and son Kaleb Michael, now 14, with ex-fiancée Shar Jackson.)

“I can see myself as a mom. Next year at 23, I am so there,” she told PEOPLE at the time.

Sure enough, the couple welcomed their first child, son Sean Preston, the following year — just four days short of their first wedding anniversary.

In 2006, Spears and Federline went on to welcome their second child together, son Jayden James.

RELATED VIDEO: Kevin Federline ‘Commends’ Ex Britney Spears for Checking Into Wellness Treatment Facility

Divorce

In November 2006, just eight weeks after her son’s arrival, Spears, then 24, filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

“We’re an opposites attract,” Federline told PEOPLE just days before the divorce announcement. “If she gets mad and she yells at me, it just turns me on more, ya know?”

Kevin Federline and Britney Spears

In March 2007, the couple reached an initial divorce settlement, which continued their interim arrangement of joint legal and physical custody of their children. But in June, Federline was still resisting signing the papers over growing concerns about Spears’ erratic behavior. During this time, the singer entered rehab at Promises in Malibu, where she stayed for four weeks.

Their divorce was finalized that July, agreeing to share custody of their sons. Around the same time, the singer’s financial assets were entered into a court-ordered conservatorship managed by her father, Jamie Spears.

Committed Co-Parents

Despite the ups and downs in their romantic relationship, Federline and Spears amicably co-parented for years.

“Britney is an awesome mom. That’s one thing I never really have to worry about” Federline told PEOPLE in 2008, adding that while the pair only see each other once in a while, “it’s good for the kids to see that Daddy does care about Mommy, and Mommy does care about Daddy.”

Britney Spears with sons

In 2015, Federline went on tell Canada’s etalk that “time” was the secret for their friendly relationship.

“It’s been a long, long journey, but I think where both of us are now, we both have somebody else we’re happy [with]. Everything just works.”

At the time, Federline had recently married Victoria Prince, and Spears was dating filmmaker and philanthropist Charlie Ebersol. Federline and Prince went on to welcome two daughters: Jordan Kaye, now 7, and Peyton Marie, now 3.

In recent years, Spears — who is dating trainer and model Sam Asghari, 25 — has focused on motherhood as well as music, documenting her adventures in parenting from tropical vacations to practical jokes on Instagram.

“My kids come first in my life, bottom line,” Spears told PEOPLE exclusively in a 2015 cover story, opening up about her children.

Child Support Drama

In 2018, Federline began fighting for significantly more child support than he had been receiving over the years.

According to court documents filed that May, Federline claimed he makes less than 1 percent of what Spears does. “We think the reasonable needs for the children while they would be in Kevin’s custody is probably three times what he’s currently receiving,” Federline’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan previously told PEOPLE

After months of court discussions, the “Toxic” singer agreed to pay Federline “thousands more a month in child support.”