According To Fans, This Is Britney Spears' Worst Ex By Far

Let's talk relationships for a sec. Not many people have been put through the wringer on such a public stage as Britney Spears has. Thanks to highly publicized relationships with Justin Timberlake and the like, Spears often found herself at the center of controversy. The early 2000s, in particular, were incredibly cruel to the "Toxic" songstress. 

In fact, following her 2002 split from JT, Spears sat down for a jaw-dropping interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer two years later — which proved to be a disastrous outing for both parties involved. Throughout the interview, Sawyer seemingly admonished and patronized the singer mainly due to her media perception which, at the time, consisted of racy outfits, a hyper-sexualized image, and her failed relationship with Timberlake. 

"You did something that caused [Timberlake] so much pain ... so much suffering. What did you do?" was the question heard around the world from Sawyer (via E! News). Though Spears defended herself, she was eventually brought to tears over the whole situation. Now, nearly two decades removed from the relationship, we here at Nicki Swift opted to survey readers on which ex was truly the singer's worst.

Out of 568 readers polled, ex-boyfriends Jason Trawick and Jason Alexander lagged behind with 53 and 73 votes (9.33% and 12.85%), respectively. Who readers voted as Britney Spears' worst ex, however, may actually surprise you.

Bet you thought Britney Spears' worst ex would be Justin Timberlake, hm? You probably would imagine so, considering the PR nightmare the "Suit & Tie" singer underwent following the release of "Framing Britney Spears." The eye-opening documentary shed light on Timberlake's behavior toward Spears in the early 2000s, though he ultimately apologized to his former flame on Instagram.

Despite such, when asking the Nicki Swift faithful who Spears' worst ex was, only 154 of 568 readers (27.11%) voted for Timberlake. A whopping 288 readers (50.7%), however, voted for Kevin Federline! In 2004, K-Fed and Spears entered a whirlwind romance that culminated with the couple's marriage in September that year. The dancer-slash-rapper received flak, as his previous girlfriend, actor Shar Jackson, was pregnant with his child when he linked up with Spears.

The two would ultimately welcome two children together, which Federline cites as the reason for their 2006 split. "I'd become more concerned with my children. Not that I ignored Britney, but my kids are always most important," he told People in 2008. "I was trying to work stuff out... she didn't even talk to me or anything and went behind my back and filed [for divorce]." Spears, on the other hand, called the marriage "probably the worst thing I've done in my career," per The Telegraph. The two endured a public custody battle in the fallout. But hey, at least Kevin Federline holds a victory over former WWE Champion John Cena.