AzLynn Berry, who was married to paparazzo Adnan Ghalib during his short-lived relationship with Spears, shared why she’s “f–king grateful” that the pop star’s affair with her ex-husband ended her marriage.
It’s been over 15 years since Britney Spears’ had an affair with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib, and the latter’s ex-wife is opening up about the relationship for the first time.
In an interview with Us Weekly, AzLynn Berry, who was married to Ghalib during his short-lived relationship with Spears, reflected on her then-husband’s affair with the pop star, sharing why she’s ultimately “grateful” that the incident led to the end of her marriage.
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Berry — who married Ghalib at 23 in 2003 — said she didn’t have a healthy relationship with the paparazzo, admitting that he “didn’t have a history of being honest when it came to his relationship status.”
However, she said she tried her best to work things out with her husband.
“I come from a very religious background [and] my family had no [history] of divorce,” she explained. “I [also had] a lot of people-pleasing behaviors and was consistently trying to prove my worth in order to be loved. It was kind of an impossible situation to build anything real from that place.”
Although their marriage had been rocky, Berry said she and Ghalib were “the closest we had ever been” when her then-husband met Spears in late 2007.
Berry — who stressed that she and the photographer were “definitely still married” at the time — added that Ghalib told her he wanted to help Spears, who was ultimately put under a conservatorship in February 2008.
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“Britney was aware of the incoming conservatorship,” Berry told Us Weekly. “He told me a lot of intimate details [about her] … even mental health stuff.”
She recalled the moment she learned of Ghalib’s affair with Spears, which came to light in January 2008 after photos surfaced of the paparazzo and singer locking lips in a parking lot.
“I’m pretty sure I called him, yelling and screaming. I probably texted him 50 times and waited for him to come back,” Berry said, adding that the moment was “extremely traumatic” looking back.
Spears wrote about Ghalib in her memoir, The Woman in Me, without referring to him by name, simply calling him “the photographer.” In the book, the 42-year-old claimed that she didn’t know he was married and she was “essentially his mistress,” but credited him with helping her with her depression and giving her the “attention I needed,” calling it a “lustful relationship.”
Meanwhile, Berry told Us Weekly that Spears’ father, Jamie, tried to “inform Britney of my existence.” However, she alluded that she understands why Spears didn’t believe her father.
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“If you have a choice between listening to someone who has kind of ripped away your identity and the hot guy with a thick accent that’s willing to treat you like a human being, you’re going to get what you want out of it,” Berry said.
Ultimately, however, Berry is “grateful” that Spears’ romance with Ghalib ended her marriage.
“I’m so f–king grateful that, for whatever reason, this unbelievable person walked into my husband’s life and removed him from mine,” she admitted, adding that she thinks her ex manipulated both her and Spears.
“He was very charismatic. I was never going to leave Adnan,” Berry said. “[Britney’s] presence was the catalyst that was strong enough to end the marriage, and I’m actually very, very grateful. I know for a fact that I would’ve killed myself if I stayed in a toxic relationship.”
Berry — who works in the wellness space — filed for legal separation from Ghalib in January 2008, before Ghalib filed for divorce in June 2008. Berry said she cut all ties to her ex-husband two years ago, with Us Weekly reporting that Ghalib wrote her a handwritten note that featured a two-sentence apology.
He didn’t respond to the outlet’s multiple requests for comment.
