For once, Britney Spears isn't the one saying "oops."
The National Enquirer apologized to the pop tart in its British edition Tuesday for publishing two stories indicating that her marriage to Kevin Federline was over.
The tabloid first ran a June 5 story under the headline, "Britney marriage is over!" A week later, it published a similar story under the headline, "Britney and Kevin: And now their divorce!" Both stories cited unidentified "friends" of the couple, who were perhaps unaware of the "awesome"-ness that is the Spears-Federline union.
After Spears' U.K. legal team objected to the claims on her behalf, the Enquirer issued a retraction and apology, stating:
"Contrary to what our articles might have suggested, we now accept that their marriage is not over and they are not getting divorced. These allegations are untrue and we now accept Britney's position that the statements are without foundation. We apologize for any distress caused."
The apology ran in the Enquirer's British edition in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales on Tuesday and was due to run in the Republic of Ireland edition on Wednesday.
"The couple are very satisfied with the Enquirer's prompt and good-faith response," Spears' Belfast-based attorney Paul Tweed told the BBC, stating that the action was "a rare if not unprecedented gesture." He said that the publication would not be sued, nor would it be required to run the apology in its American edition.
Spears pursued her case across the pond because British and Irish libel laws are far more sympathetic to the plaintiff. While U.S. libel laws call for the plaintiff to prove that a publication ran a false story both knowingly and maliciously, U.K. libel laws place the burden of proof on the publication that ran the material.
The singer, who is currently pregnant with her second child with Federline, has frequently expressed her distaste for "false tabloids" and has said she feels like "a target" of such publications.
"My safety, privacy and respect are three things that I feel are trying to be taken away from me," she said in a recent Dateline interview.
She may have beaten the Enquirer, but Spears is still locked in an ongoing battle with Us Weekly, after suing the magazine for $20 million over an item that claimed she was fearful that an X-rated tape of her bedroom exploits would become public.
According to Spears, no such tape exists, but Us Weekly has said it stands by its "credible source" for the story. Lawyers for both parties were in court in Los Angeles Tuesday for a hearing on several motions.