Pop diva Spears ends rumors, Confirms she is pregnant

Pop diva Britney Spears is ending rumors by coming clean in announcing that in fact, she is pregnant.

The 23-year-old entertainer announced on her official website that she is indeed pregnant, finally laying to rest the stories that her weight gain is the result of overindulging in southern cuisine during her “time off.”

In a letter to fans on the site, Spears writes, “The time has finally come to share our wonderful news that we are expecting our first child together. There are reports that I was in the hospital this weekend, Kevin and I just wanted everyone to know that all is well. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.”

Britney Spears has made no secret of her desire to become a young mother, writing on her Web site last October that she “can’t wait to start a family.”

Shortly after her wedding to Federline, she announced she was taking a few months off to “just chill” and enjoy married life with her new husband.

But that did not stop celebrity magazines and paparazzi photographers from following her every move, snapping her on the beach and shopping in maternity stores. Some reported that the marriage was already on the rocks.

Spears and Federline were married only eight months after Spears wed a former high school sweetheart in Las Vegas in a spur of the moment arrangement that was quickly annulled.

Yet the couple has hardly hid from the limelight - last week, the pair announced they would document their courtship in a new reality series on UPN. The network promised “exclusive, never-before-seen private home videos” of their “personal love story.”

People magazine Senior Editor Jess Cagle says Spears is “right on schedule,” having previously told People she wanted to be pregnant when she was 23. She turned 23 in December.

He says signs point to Spears being four months into her pregnancy.

And, Cagle adds, photographers could be licking their chops.

This will be Spears’ first child, while Federline has two children with former girlfriend Shar Jackson. Spears and Federline, a former backup dancer for the pop star, met last year while Jackson was pregnant with Federline’s second child.