Whitney & Britney: The Uncanny Parallels

With impending divorces, surprising public appearances, sleek new looks and rumored musical comebacks, Whitney Houston and Britney Spears, two of music's most beloved and successful stars, seem to be leading rather parallel lives.
 
Although quite different in their musical styles and career longevities, Whitney & Britney have at least one more shared trait in common - their poor choice in husbands.
 
Whitney Houston married singer Bobby Brown in 1992, and although that may not have spelled "disaster" to most people at the time, the relationship soon became tabloid fodder. Soon thereafter criminal charges were brought against Brown and the perception emerged that Houston was being badly influenced by him. Brown had three children with two different women before marrying Houston (the youngest child born a year before their marriage). Throughout the years that they were married, Houston's appearance and behavior seemed to slowly deteriorate and her career began to suffer, with numerous cancelled appearances and less clout on the sales charts than she had enjoyed previously. Her greatest hits collection "Whitney: The Greatest Hits," released shortly after reported drug charges were filed against Brown and Houston in Hawaii, met with lower sales than usual. Her greatest chart achievement, "I Will Always Love You," peaked in 1991, one year before marrying Bobby Brown. Her career has not come close to enjoying that kind of success since the marriage.
 
Britney Spears married backup dancer Kevin Federline in 2002, and that actually did spell "disaster" to at least one person -- Shar Jackson, Federline's pregnant girlfriend. Federline already had one child with Jackson, and many saw his surprising union with Spears as distasteful. Regardless, Spears and Federline married in September 2004 in a small ceremony in California (which turned out to be a fake; their actual marriage took place a few weeks later). Many saw the marriage as unbalanced, with Spears' family and manager allegedly forcing her to sign a prenuptial agreement. She went on to have two children with Federline, and the marriage was also fodder for the tabloids. The couple's behavior and parenting skills were called into question various times. Spears' career seemingly took a backseat to her marriage with Federline, with limited public appearances and the release of a greatest hits collection that failed to generate the whopping sales Spears was accustomed to from previous efforts.