But was their ever another path for Britney Jean Spears? Her parents pimped her out as a source of income, her husband treated her as a big fat meal ticket, and her current 'friends' all want something out of her. She's been used, pushed around and manipulated during her formative years and beyond.

She's obviously sick, confused, and doesn't feel like she can trust anyone around her. Even a bloody TV doctor wants in on the act, with Oprah's sidekick Dr Phil taking advantage of Britney's recent meltdown to storm her hospital room and try to cajole her into appearing on a TV special.

So desperate for love she'll cling on to anyone who pays her the slightest bit of attention from married men to deadbeat dancers, even compulsively buying tiny dogs one after the other. Her latest fling, paparazzi Adnan Ghalib, was rumoured to be hawking photos of Britney to the highest bidder while they were together. Because she's weak and she's fragile (and rich, don't forget!) she's a magnet for users and losers.

She's the quintessential poor little rich girl, with everything and nothing she wants.

It seems the only two people Britney has that really love her for her are her two sons, who she's in danger of losing for good if she doesn't get her act together.

Britney burst into the spotlight 10 years ago, dressed as a saucy schoolgirl in her 'Baby, One More Time' video, but Britney had been slogging her guts out for many years before her breakthrough at 17. She was her family's major source of income for many years, and the pressure to keep your family afloat when you're only a child yourself must be immense.

The girl was mentally checking out years ago, talking about "time to chill" and "slowing down" in interviews back in 2003 and 2004.

Remember her dad is a recovering alcoholic, and her paternal grandmother committed suicide after a long struggle with depression. Britney's predisposed to mental illness and addiction, which is perhaps why she's turned out the way she has when her contemporaries - from ex Justin Timberlake to old acquaintance Christina Aguilera - are still going strong personally and professionally.

I'm no expert on mental illness, but apparently people who are afflicted with bipolar (like Britney is rumoured to be) often self-medicate with drugs and alcohol before diagnosis or before they start receiving treatment to try and balance up whatever in their life feels out of whack.

The poor girl's been micro-managed her whole life - no wonder she started to rebel. With that kind of pressure it's almost inevitable that Britney would go off the rails at some stage - and the sad thing is if she doesn't get professional help, and soon, this may not be the lowest that she sinks.

Recent revelations suggested that Britney had lost her virginity long before she became the pop world's most famous virgin - who equally as famously 'lost' her virginity to Justin several years later. Yet another lie concocted by someone twisting her life to boost her mass appeal. She had to lie to become what record companies, management and hangers on wanted her to be - so how could she ever develop her own sense of self?

I reckon things started going downhill for Britney when she had her bleary, booze-filled 55 hour wedding to a childhood pal, Jason Alexander (no, not the guy from Seinfeld!) in Vegas. That was the highlight of that hick's life, but Britney's mama and her management made sure he went away quickly and quietly.

Ex Jason spilled the beans on Britney's wild side during their brief marriage, selling tacky tales of ecstasy fuelled bisexual benders to an English tabloid.

I'm not saying Britney's completely innocent in all of this. She's long been rumoured not to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, and surrounds herself with people who don't really care less about her. Obviously she's making some immature and selfish decisions - but while some are inconsequential, others could have far reaching consequences on her life.

Yes, she is undoubtedly trashy. She loves fried chicken, smeared makeup and tank tops, y'all. She goes to public toilets in bare feet. She lets her dog poo on the carpet. She drinks far too many Starbucks frappucinos than could be good for a person. She makes mistakes as a mother, admittedly some bigger than others, but find me a parent that hasn't. Theirs just aren't in full view of hundreds of cameras for the entire world to see.

It seems the public now wants to nominate Kevin Federline for Father of the Year, but don't go making him up a winner's sash just yet. Although Kevin seems to be bending over backwards for his boys with Britney, Jayden and Sean, he's not so conspicuous when it comes to the kids he had with his ex - daughter Kori and son Kaleb. Perhaps the opportunity to mooch a payday off their far less wealthy mother is a bit more limited.

While Britney gets vilified for being a 'chronic' user of drugs, word is Kevin's always had a long-standing love affair with weed. And does the guy have a job, or is he just living on Britney's handouts?

Britney can make a comeback. I hope so. Because at the moment the world's seeing a path for Britney which is all to similar to another larger than life blonde, Anna Nicole Smith, who died last year.

She's still young, has two young sons, squillions of dollars in the bank, and somewhere, buried deep down, a whole lot of determination. Let's just hope she can find it before things take a nasty turn.