Britney Spears reunites with ‘criminal’ ex, friends fear she’s on a ‘dark path’

In September 2023, only one month after Britney Spears filed to end her 14-month marriage with Sam Asghari, she was rumored to be dating Paul Soliz, who in 2022 reportedly worked as her housekeeper, cleaning toilets and mopping the floors at her Thousand Oaks, California mansion.

The 37-year-old man has a history of crime, including multiple misdemeanours, child endangerment, driving without a license, and felony possession of a firearm and of a controlled substance.

Adding to that, the Daily Mail reports that Soliz is the father of at least nine children, and is being chased by the Los Angeles Department for Child Support Services (DCSS) for unpaid support.

“He has ten kids. He doesn’t support any of them,” says Sandra Smith, who’s caring for her daughter Nicole Mancilla and the five children she shares with Soliz. “He’s a deadbeat dad. It’s difficult for me, because he doesn’t support not one kid. And they’re at my house.”

Once it was discovered that the handyman had an extensive rap sheet, Page Six reports that he was relieved of his duties at Spears’ home.

But the pop princess had “still chosen to spend time with him” and the two were “not trying to hide their new-found friendship.”

“She’s a phenomenal woman,” Soliz, 37, told Us Weekly of Spears. The man, who allegedly violated his probation continued, “She’s a very, very good, positive…She’s a good person.”

Next defending himself, the contractor adds, “I’m not a bad dude. I understand that things have been said about me in the past, and I have a criminal record, I get it.”

‘Mental breakdown’

But in the spring of 2024, Spears and Soliz had a few scuffles, one at the Chateau Marmont where the two allegedly had a huge altercation.

TMZ reports that police were called after a “disturbance” with a woman matching the singer’s description “harassing and threatening hotel employees and guests.”

After officers found no signs of trouble, they left, and the couple returned to the hotel room where they “partied and drank.”

They are then said to have got into a “huge physical altercation in which Spears may have hurt her leg.”

It’s claimed the author of “The Woman in Me” was “screaming and out of control in the hallway of her suite,” and “several guests,” thinking she was having a mental breakdown, called paramedics.

She was then pictured outside the hotel, her barely clothed body covered by a blanket and clutching a pillow.

Spears did not get into an ambulance and apparently left the hotel with her security and without Soliz.

‘Chose her children’

In early July, it’s reported the star dumped Soliz after she saw his “true colors,” and learned that he’s a “deadbeat dad”, which was a “major turn off for her.”

According to sources, Spears feared her relationship with Soliz would jeopardize her efforts to reconcile with her two sons, Sean Preston, 18, and Jayden James, 17, who she shares with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

“She chose her children and her well-being over Paul. They did not get along and, in fact, he did not treat her how she deserves to be treated,” the tipster said.

“He was nothing but a rebound and she recognizes this. But she has contact with her children again and this is what is most important to her. This has made her feel whole again and she realized that in their absence she was seeking something or someone to fill the void but no one can.”

And on July 7, she shared a now deleted social media post where she’s seemingly reveling in single life.

She writes, “Single as f***!!! I will never be with another man as long as I live!!!”

Oops…she did it again

On July 31, only weeks after announcing she was forever writing off men, the “Baby One More Time” singer was spotted dining with Soliz at the Soho House, an exclusive beachside celebrity hotspot.

The “Oops!…I Did It Again” singer was seen wearing a purple patterned blouse and white cut-off shorts paired with a large floppy hat, while Soliz went with plaid button-down over a white T-shirt and jeans.