We’ve seen the head shaving, the vag-flashing, the busted weave, the 5150 holds, the custody loss and of course, the Brown Boots of Mental Illness. But what we didn’t know is that over the last two years of insanity, Britney Spears has been the subject of an upcoming biography by writer Ian Halperin. In the notes for his book, Halperin reveals that the star was in an even worse mental state than we thought- and talked often of ending her life.

Troubled pop star Britney Spears tried to kill herself on two separate occasions, according to a new unauthorised biography.

Investigative journalist Ian Halperin makes the claim in his yet-to-be-released book, which he researched over 18 months as an undercover photographer.

In an interview with American magazine Life & Style, Halperin, who has written biographies on Kurt Cobain and Celine Dion among others, says: ‘I spoke with her many times and went to her house. I will say the suicide attempts are true. I know all the details about both of them.’

An Britney family insider confirmed to the publication that the singer regularly hinted at suicide, and revealed her suicidal tendencies began after the birth of her second son Jayden James in September 2006.

The source says: ‘It really became an issue once Jayden was born and it became clear Britney’s marriage to Kevin was crumbling.

‘That’s when she began to say things like “I wish I was dead” or “It’d be better if I could go to sleep and never wake up” on a regular basis.’

‘It really seemed like the suicide option was a comfort to her, an escape route in case life became too much to handle.’

Britney’s well-documented erratic behaviour has calmed in recent months under the watch of her father and conservator Jamie, but the author believes she’s still at risk.

He says: ‘I think she’s in danger of a catastrophic relapse. Britney herself warned me that with her, it’s always two steps forward, one step back.’

Adds the insider: ‘She’s on major medications. And she’s being micro-managed and controlled to the extreme by her parents, the courts and a huge team of doctors and handlers.’

‘She’s like a zombie now. She’s a shell of her old self.’

[From the Daily Mail]

Ian Halperin is no slouch in the investigative journalism department, even if his books are highly sensationalized. He won a Rolling Stone award for Investigative Journalism, and has written two books about the life and death of Kurt Cobain, an expose on James Taylor and one on Celine Dion. His most recent expose was on the Church of Scientology, titled “Hollywood Undercover,” for which he posed as a Scientologist and infiltrated the Church, gaining access to some of the highest levels of it. When the book came out, Halperin had to go into hiding due to death threats. There’s still no word on when this Britney Spears biography is due to hit shelves, but given what we already know about her, it’s sure to be a doozy.

Britney is shown yesterday flying out of LAX, thanks to Splash News.