Spears 'keeps shrine to Federline'

Britney Spears keeps a "shrine" to ex-husband Kevin Federline in her Malibu home, her former assistant has claimed.

Kalie Machado revealed that Federline's clothes are still in his wardrobe because the singer cannot bear to throw them away.

The couple, who split in 2006 after two years of marriage, are currently embroiled in a high-profile custody battle over sons Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James.

Machado said: "Her house was her pride and joy. She kept all Kevin's clothes and she would wander into his wardrobe looking at them. You could say it was a shrine to him - or to their marriage, at least.

"She was incredibly sad and lonely while I was with her. She'd burst into tears when he wouldn't return her calls. She'd cry at night a lot. She would sob: 'Why isn't he calling back? Doesn't he love me and the babies? Why did he do this to me?'"

Machado also claimed that Spears had planned to shave her head months before taking the plunge.