Drew Barrymore Found ‘Deep Connection’ In Befriending Britney Spears

Drew Barrymore says that her recent friendship with Britney Spears has formed into a "deep connection." While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon yesterday (September 13), the actress said she knew that she'd be one of the only people who could relate to Britney's situation.

Barrymore, 47, said she reached out to Spears, 40, in 2021. She revealed, "I made friends with Britney about a year and a half ago and we sort of had some secret exchanges. I know that sounds nefarious, it was exactly the opposite. It was very connective and honest and we've both been through a lot of things, we have some parallels that are unique in their circumstances." Spears' 13-year conservatorship was terminated last November, and since then, she has slammed her family members, including dad Jamie Spears, mom Lynne Spears and younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears.

Unfortunately for Barrymore, she, too, dealt with a troubled youth as a child actress, developing an addiction to alcohol and cocaine at just 11 years old and attempting suicide at 14, per CNN. In her book, Wildflower, Barrymore wrote that her mother "locked [her] up in an institution" as a teen for a year and a half. "It was like serious recruitment training and boot camp, and it was horrible and dark and very long-lived, a year and a half, but I needed it. I needed that whole insane discipline. My life was not normal. I was not a kid in school with normal circumstances. There was something very abnormal, and I needed some severe shift." She emancipated from her mother at 14.

"The feelings of growing up, the struggling -- all the stuff that we've both gone through, is something that I felt connected to her," she said. "I'm not a real reach-out kind of person, I'm not 'Hollwood Bob,' I'm not slick. It's just, the humanity in what she was going through, trying to get her freedom back, was something I felt compelled to reach out and we found a deep connection there."

The Drew Barrymore Show host said that she and Spears soon became "genuine friends" and she was thrilled to receive an invitation to the "Hold Me Closer" singer's wedding  in June. "The people you see in that photo are some of the only people there," Barrymore said. "There was no press, it was the way she wanted to do it, which… led to that photograph, which was also a moment, and none of us planned for it, it just happened organically."

Watch Drew Barrymore's interview in full below:

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari's wedding turned out to be the "fairytale" they envisioned, despite Britney's ex-husband Jason Alexander . A source told PEOPLE that the bride was overjoyed to finally say "I do," adding that she walked herself down the aisle, as she didn't invite any family members .

"It ended up being the happiest night for Britney," the source told the publication. "She wanted a fairytale wedding and she got it. Britney looked stunning. She is very excited to be married. She looks forward to a future with Sam."

"As soon as she walked down the aisle and saw Sam, she had the biggest smile. She cried several times during the ceremony, but it was all happy tears," they said, adding, "Britney danced for hours at the reception. You could tell that she had the best time."

Multiple sources confirmed that the couple tied the knot Thursday night before an intimate star-studded guest list of about 60 people, including Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton, Selena Gomez and Madonna (who shared a smooch with the bride).

According to sources, Spears wore a gown by Versace, with Donatella Versace at the ceremony, and walked down the aisle to Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love."

Asghari's manager, Brandon Cohen, told PEOPLE after the ceremony, "I am very ecstatic this day has come, and they are married. I know he wanted this for so long. He is so caring and supportive every step of the way."

Spears, 40, and the actor and fitness trainer, 28, were first romantically linked after they met on the set of her "Slumber Party" music video in 2016 and the rest is history.

However, what was meant to be a fairytale was disrupted by Britney's ex, who she was married to for a very brief 55 hours back in 2004; he stormed into her wedding venue yesterday, while livestreaming on Instagram.

“Hey Britney!” he can be heard shouting as he walks around the premises. “I’m here to crash the wedding because nobody is here except Sam. Where the f--- is the family?”

“So here’s the inside scoop guys of the bulls--- wedding,” he said as he filmed. Viewers who were watching the livestream commented that they were “scared” for Britney’s safety as Jason made his way around her house and disturbingly told someone off camera, “Don’t f--- with me bro, I’m done.”

Jason was eventually arrested by police officers, People reports.

Britney and Sam’s wedding still went ahead, though the couple and their guests were reportedly left “shocked” and “shaken up” by the incident.

See how fans reacted to Alexander's trespassing below: