After years of public sparring, pop star Britney Spears has reportedly reunited with her mother, Lynne – the same woman she wrote “ruined [her] life” in 2022.

The Toxic hitmaker was pictured in a cuddle with her mum in an Instagram post shared over the weekend, the first intimate mother-daughter photo of the duo in years.

Their reunion follows the fallout from Spears’ conservatorship and marriage, and the release of her explosive memoir The Woman in Me.

Wait – how did we get here?

Spears and Lynne had kept a seemingly close relationship over the years, until legal battles between Spears and her father, Jamie, appeared to tear the family apart.

Lynne moved with Spears to New York in 1991, where she enroled her daughter at the Professional Performing Arts School while Spears’ father and brother stayed in Michigan.

Spears’ career began to take off in 1993 with The Mickey Mouse Club, before she signed to Jive Records in 1997.

Lynne’s mother, Lillian Portell, died in 1993 while Spears was making her audition rounds. In Lynne’s 2008 autobiography, Through the Storm, the mother-of-three revealed Justin Timberlake’s mother lent the family money for the funeral.

Over the years, Lynne and close family friend Felicia Culotta would take turns travelling and touring with Spears, and together the mother-daughter duo co-wrote Heart to Heart and A Mother’s Gift, in 2000 and 2001.

Lynne remained out of the spotlight for many of Spears’ publicised personal moments, including her divorce from dancer Kevin Federline. On Spears shaving her hair off in 2007, Lynne’s memoir read “how could this be? She used to be the happiest girl in the world”, according to Entertainment Weekly.

In 2019, the Free Britney movement gained major traction in the media as details of Spears’ conservatorship, which the star was placed under in 2008 which put her father Jamie in charge of her personal and financial affairs, were revealed by a fan podcast, Britney’s Gram.

In March that year, Spears entered a psychiatric facility, and a month later Lynne shared a message of encouragement on Instagram, writing: “keep going.”

Following the post, US Weekly reported Lynne wanted Spears to return to treatment, which a source alleges angered the singer.

Amid Spear’s 2020 legal battle, a motion by Lynne to be included in her daughter’s finances was ultimately denied by the court. According to Spears’ Instagram, it is around this time the two lost connection.

What has Britney said about her mum?

In November 2021, Spears marked the end of her conservatorship with an Instagram post slamming both of her parents.

“My dad may have started the conservatorship 13 years ago … but what people don’t know is that my mum is the one who gave him the idea! I will never get those years back. She secretly ruined my life,” Spears wrote in a now deleted post.

When Spears wed model Sam Asghari, who is now separated from the singer, Lynne reportedly did not receive an invitation, but still shared her well-wishes on social media.

After audio of Spears claiming her family “literally killed me” with her conservatorship was released in August, Lynne responded on Instagram.

“I have never and will never turn my back on you! Your rejections to the countless times I have flown out and calls make me feel hopeless! I have tried everything. I love you so much, but this talk is for you and me only, eye to eye, in private,” Lynne wrote.

The social media back and forth continued in October that year, with Spears rejecting her mother’s request to unblock her on social media by writing: “take your apology and go f… yourself.”

Spears later claimed her mother “slapped me so hard that I will never forget it” in the early 2000s after returning home to her mother and children after a long night of partying.

What changed?

In May, Spears shared a message on Instagram which surprised many: she and Lynne had met up for the first time in years.

“My sweet mama showed up at my doorstep yesterday after 3 years … it’s been such a long time,” Spears wrote.

“With family there’s always things that need to be worked out … but time heals all wounds!”

When The Woman in Me was released in October, the memoir included a passage on “never [wanting]” to reconnect with family as she believed her mother had thrown out her well-loved Madame Alexander doll collection and poetry.

Lynne later shared photos of Spears’ dolls to Instagram, revealing that she hadn’t discarded Spears’ possessions and offered to send them to her daughter.

By December, the duo “finally healed their wounds” together after Lynne approached Spears to apologise, according to the Daily Mail.

“It was the book. Britney was able to get her feelings out and Lynne didn’t try to negate those feelings,” the source said.

“Lynne took ownership and she apologised. This was a huge turning point.

“Britney is now reunited with those who mean the most to her in her family… They have finally healed their wounds and are looking forward to the future with positivity.”

Is Britney close with the rest of her family?

Spears has had a rocky younger sister Jamie-Lynn, however, the sisters had seen each other as recently as June when Spears visited her actress sister on the set of Zoey 102.

Earlier this month, Spears labelled her older brother Bryan as “my big brother who’s like a dad and my best friend” on Instagram.

As for Spears’ father, Jamie, the star’s memoir revealed a tumultuous relationship in which Spears was criticised for her weight, and exercised control over numerous aspects of the singer’s life.

“Too sick to choose my own boyfriend and yet somehow healthy enough to appear on sitcoms and morning shows, and to perform for thousands of people in a different part of the world every week,” Spears wrote.

“From that point on, I began to think that he saw me as put on the earth for no other reason than to help their cash flow.”

According to TMZ, Jamie recently had his leg amputated following a serious infection which saw the 71-year-old hospitalised for weeks.

Speaking to Variety in July, Spears says she has “nothing but absolute love for every single one of my family members.”

“If I learned anything from last year, being so open and feeling like I had to defend myself at times, I don’t feel like there’s anything else that I need to say.”