Britney Spears has reportedly checked herself into a mental-health facility after “suffering from emotional distress,” according to Variety.
Sources close to Spears told TMZ that she’s been struggling to cope with her father Jamie’s illness, which isn’t getting better. His colon ruptured last year, and he recently had another surgery, which reportedly led to complications.
“Her dad being sick has taken a toll on her,” a separate source told People. “He nearly died and actually had another surgery a few weeks ago. He’s not doing well. They’re so close, and it has been a lot. There is nothing dramatic going on with her — she just realized she needs to make sure to take time to care for herself.”
TMZ reports that she checked herself into a facility about a week ago, and she’ll stay there for approximately 30 days. Spears herself addressed her fans on Instagram today for the first time since January, with a picture of a quote saying “Fall in love with taking care of yourself. Mind, body, spirit.”
She captioned it, “We all need to take time for a little me-time. :)”
In November, Spears announced that she was putting her Las Vegas residency on hold temporarily to focus on her family. “I don’t even know where to start with this, because this is so tough for me to say,” she wrote on Twitter at the time. “I will not be performing my new show 'Domination.' I’ve been looking forward to this show and seeing all of you this year, so doing this breaks my heart.”
“However, it’s important to always put your family first…and that’s the decision I had to make,” she continued. “A couple of months ago, my father was hospitalized and almost died. We’re all so grateful that he came out of it alive, but he still has a long road ahead of him."