Britney Gains Hubby, Loses Manager

Fri., Oct. 8, 2004 12:25 PM PDT by Joal Ryan

And now for the latest Britney Spears updates: husband, yes; manager, no; and reputed wedding-night panties, "quite disgusting."

Just another media day for the megapublicized pop tart...

Arguably of most import to Spears herself: the state of her union.

Per Spears' camp, the entertainer's marriage to dancer Kevin Federline is officially official.

A publicist for the singer, Leslie Sloane Zelnick, said Friday she didn't know the particulars of what was filed, or the particulars behind the holdup in the first place.

"All I can tell you is it's signed and sealed [now]," Zelnick said. "It's all done."

On Friday, Kathy Treggs, manager of public records for L.A. County's Registrar-Recorder/Clerk's office, confirmed a valid license had been filed. Because Spears and Federline applied for a confidential license, Treggs said she could not disclose any details contained in the document, including the certified marriage date.

Spears, 22, and Federline, 26, walked down the aisle in the Studio City, California, home of their wedding planner on Sept. 18.

But spurred by a report in Us Weekly, Spears and Federline admitted days after the ceremony that their marriage was not yet legal.

Us said the two agreed to participate in a sham ceremony on Sept. 18 because their prenuptial agreement had been finalized only a day before the scheduled ring exchange. (In California, pre-nups must be signed seven days prior to a wedding to be later considered valid by a judge.)

Spears and Federline denied the ceremony was a fake but allowed that they needed to wait to file their marriage license because of a "grace period" involving the pre-nup.

It remains unclear why Spears and Federline ever considered their marriage not-quite official. Records officials and lawyers have said a marriage license doesn't necessarily make a person married in the eyes of the court--a wedding ceremony makes a person married. A license is essentially a record-keeping procedure.

In any case, Spears says she has a husband now. And as Federline enters, Larry Rudolph exits.

Rudolph is the entertainment lawyer credited with "discovering" Spears at age 13, and, as her manager, helping convert the ex-Mouseketeer into a ...Baby One More Time pop star. His magic also worked for the 1990s boy band 98 Degrees. (To this day, he produces Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica, the MTV reality series starring 98 Degrees alum Nick Lachey and wife Jessica Simpson.)

All told, Rudolph and Spears were together for nine years and five albums, the final of which, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, is due out Nov. 9.

In the Hollywood divorce tradition, the split was said to be amicable.

"Britney and I simply realized that we have done all we can do together," Rudolph said in a statement.

Spears, in the same statement, said she wished Rudolph "all of the best."

"We had a great run and I appreciate Larry's guidance over the years," Spears said.

What Spears' camp does not appreciate is an eBay auction professing to offer "a bra and pair of boy shorts" from her "wedding night."

"It's not her stuff," Zelnick said. "[The idea of the auction is] quite disgusting."

In a description of the items on the eBay site, the seller, who claims to have worked the Spears nuptials last month, says the undergarments are "100 percent guaranteed" and, whew, "brand new."

Bidding, which began at $1.04 on Thursday, was up to $14,100 by Friday noon.

Zelnick said she believed Spears' lawyers were circling. An eBay spokesman, Hani Durzy, said he couldn't comment on whether the site had been contacted by the singer's camp.