Spears tied the knot with the actor and personal fitness trainer in June 2022. The former couple separated in August 2023 after 14 months of marriage. Less than a year later, their divorce was finalized after they were able to come to a settlement in May 2024.
After Spears said their union "felt like a fake distraction" for her in an August 2025 Instagram post, Asghari shared a statement with PEOPLE via his rep from BAC Talent.
"It may have been short, but we were together for seven years," he said. "I was in love with her, will always have love for her, and wish her the best always."
After moving to the United States from his native Iran in 2006, Asghari has starred in a variety of TV shows such as Black Monday and Hacks and appeared in several magazines and videos, which is how he met Spears. After playing the singer's love interest in her 2016 music video "Slumber Party," the pair turned their fictional relationship into reality several months later.
Asghari is currently dating Brooke Irvine. The couple went Instagram official in January 2025.
So, who is Britney Spears' ex-husband? Here's everything to know about Sam Asghari and his former relationship with the pop superstar.
At 12 years old, Asghari immigrated from his native Iran to Los Angeles and settled down with his father, mother and three sisters in 2006 -- a move that wasn't easy, he explained to Men's Health in July 2018.
"I had to leave my friends and family, who I was very close with, and I knew I was moving away and never coming back," he said.
Although his father moved back to Tehran in 2009, Asghari appreciated the opportunity to live in the U.S.
"When people complain nowadays about what's happening in the U.S. and the imperfections of the country, I never understand because I come from a country where there was no freedom whatsoever," he told GQ in June 2022.
Asghari became a U.S. citizen in 2012, but didn't know how to speak English upon his arrival. While he took English classes at his school, he credited Disney's Hannah Montana for helping him learn the language.
Despite the large Iranian population in L.A., Asghari was dedicated to assimilating into American culture.
"I had one friend that spoke Farsi," he told GQ. "We never spoke Farsi to each other."
An athlete throughout his childhood, Asghari played football in high school and college. He later turned his hobby into a job.
Asghari runs Asghari Fitness, which offers members personalized training programs and personalized seven-day meal plans for $9 a week.
He once posted videos on his fitness Instagram page and photos of himself working out.
Asghari also has parlayed his fit physique into a second career in modeling. He has his sister to thank for helping him step outside his comfort zone and onto the runway.
"I was a very masculine guy -- I played football and was in the police academy," Asghari told Men's Health. "At the time, my Sunday best was basketball shorts. My sister said, 'I will take you to this audition, just come with me.' "
Following his first runway show at 21 years old, Asghari’s résumé began to grow. In addition to modeling, he was cast in TV, music and film projects.
Aside from minor parts in a Super Bowl ad and Fifth Harmony’s “Work from Home” music video, Asghari got his big break when he was cast as Spears’ love interest in her 2016 music video for “Slumber Party.”
“It was the humbleness that attracted me,” he told GQ of their meeting. “She was very humble, and she had a beautiful soul.” Asghari added that she gave him “butterflies.”
Although he's had minor roles on several shows, including NCIS, The Family Business, Hacks and Black Monday, Asghari has expressed he wants to take his acting career more seriously and diversify his résumé. In 2021, he was cast in the action-thriller Hot Seat opposite Mel Gibson, marking the actor's first major film role.
"Action is something that I want to do -- action, drama thriller -- that's a genre that I want to really get into," he told Variety in May 2021. "But if you can do comedy, you can do anything."
Asghari told the outlet he hopes to eventually move into "blockbusters" and "TV shows that get on Netflix and become fan favorites." He added: "My ultimate goal is to really become a well-rounded actor. I'm doing a lot of MMA training; I'm doing a lot of gun and stunt training to be a well-rounded actor such as Tom Cruise ... Jason Statham."
On Nov. 16, 2022, Variety announced that Asghari was joining the cast of the Paramount+ series Lioness. The next day, the actor posted about the news on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of the headline.
"It's a pleasure to join such a badass cast 🦁🎥," he wrote in the caption, adding, "Hey @paramountplus do I get a free subscription now? 😂"
In May 2023, Asghari defended Spears in an Instagram Story, calling people in Spears' inner circle "absolutely disgusting" in an apparent reference to a TMZ documentary on his wife's conservatorship.
"The last thing I want to do is speak on my wife's behalf, I will never do that. I respect her privacy, that's why I don't talk as much," Asghari said in the video. "I found it absolutely disgusting for the people that were in her life at the time when she didn't have a voice, they went and told her story like it was theirs. It was absolutely disgusting."
He also described how Spears was "in prison, where her father tells her what to do, what water to drink, who to see, and use her as a money-making machine," adding, "now you're gonna put her under a microscope and tell her story? No. That's also disgusting, so don't do that."
After 14 months of marriage, the couple decided to go their separate ways. Asghari filed for divorce on Aug. 16, 2023. He cited irreconcilable differences and requested that Spears pay spousal support.
"It's been very toxic between them for a long time," a source told PEOPLE at the time. Another insider added: "Their marriage has been on the rocks for months. There has been constant drama. It's sad. A divorce would be devastating for Britney."
A day after filing, Asghari broke his silence in a statement on Instagram.
"AFTER 6 YEARS OF LOVE AND COMMITMENT TO EACH OTHER MY WIFE AND I HAVE DECIDED TO END OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER," he wrote. "WE WILL HOLD ONTO THE LOVE AND RESPECT WE HAVE FOR EACH OTHER AND I WISH HER THE BEST ALWAYS."
The actor continued: "S--- HAPPENS. ASKING FOR PRIVACY SEEMS [RIDICULOUS] SO I WILL JUST ASK FOR EVERYONE ... TO BE KIND AND THOUGHTFUL."
Meanwhile, a source told PEOPLE that Spears is still "in great spirits despite everything going on."
"Obviously it's never an easy thing to go through, but she's remaining positive and focusing on the future," the insider said.
In May 2024, Spears and Asghari's divorce was finalized, and a source told PEOPLE that their prenuptial agreement was "not challenged" in the process.
"Britney is continuing to flex her freedom and is moving on," the source said, adding that a report that claimed the singer was in financial ruin was "false."
Asghari and Brooke Irvine were first linked in November 2024 when they were spotted out and about in Los Angeles. They made their relationship Instagram official in January 2025.
Asghari joined the cast of The Traitors season 3 in June 2024. On the show, he was a Faithful and managed to last until the show's ninth episode.
"I've never done anything unscripted, and I figured it was a good moment," Asghari told Men's Journal in February 2025."I mean, looking at The Traitors , they have great edits . It sort of looks like a TV series with it being in Scotland ,the way people were dressed ,the way Alan [Cumming] dresses ,just the whole theme of it was really cool ."
He added,"I felt like it was a great moment with the show being not like other gossipy reality things .It was just a good moment for me to be a part of it ,and I figured out just go in it and have fun and be myself ,and that's what I did."
In an August 2025 Instagram post ,Spears called her marriage to Asghari “the hardest years of my life,”adding that she was “cut off from calling or texting”her sons at that time .
“I remember in shock my secret to survival was denial and a lot of tears its weird me and Sam were married but it almost felt like a fake distraction to help me deal with it,”she wrote.
In response to Spears’ comments ,Asghari told PEOPLE in a statement ,“Our marriage was very real to me .It may have been short ,but we were together for seven years .I was in love with her ,will always have love for her ,and wish her the best always.”