Britney Spears Fans Think She Might Be Dating Her Former Criminal Housekeeper

Pop star Britney Spears once sang "But mama I'm in love with a criminal" in her hit song "Criminal" and fans are worried that it might actually be true!

Paul Richard Soliz was formerly employed at her Thousand Oaks estate as a housekeeper before he was later let go. It's unclear if his criminal record was the reason for the dismissal, but he had nothing but positive things to say about the pop star when reporters caught up to him to ask him about his relationship with the 41-year-old Princess of Pop.

In a video posted by BreatheHeavy to X, formerly known as Twitter, Britney’s former housekeeper calls Britney a “phenomenal” woman and called her both a “positive” and “good” person amid reports that the two are romantically involved. “She’s a phenomenal woman. She’s a very, very good, positive,” he said earlier this week before he went on to describe himself as “not a bad dude.”

“I understand that things have been said about me in the past, and I have a criminal record — I get it,” he continued. “I’m a working man. I own my own business. I do a licensed contractor technique tile.”

In his brief chat with Us Weekly following a court appearance for allegedly violating his probation, he went on to call Sam Asghari a “great guy.” Britney, who had been dating the “Special Ops: Lioness” actor since 2016, finally tied the knot in June 2022.

However, the 29-year-old actor filed for divorce on August 16 after around 14 months of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split in court documents obtained by The Blast.

He said that Britney is “doing great” despite the divorce but wouldn’t share any more details than that. Soliz is also a father but noted that he isn’t “really worried about” the criminal case against him and said that he thought that it would end up being dismissed.

He is currently enrolled in court-ordered anger management classes, which has been concerning to some fans. According to court documents obtained by the outlet, he has faced multiple charges for misdemeanors such as child endangerment, disturbing the peace, and driving without a license. He also was charged with felonies for possession of a controlled substance for sale and possession of a firearm.

His latest charge happened in December 2020, when he was arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession of ammunition. He pled not contest to the charges and served 90 days in jail. He was also sentenced to two years’ probation.

After he was released from jail in May, he started working for Britney. A source told the outlet, “He fixed things around the house. Things like doorknobs and unclog toilets.” However, they went on to say that he was “terminated” after about two months. It’s unclear why he was terminated, but there have been rumors that Britney was unfaithful to Sam with her housekeeper.

One source told the outlet that Sam learned that Britney cheated on him with the housekeeper by watching security camera footage of the incident. “He was fired when Britney’s team found out they were sleeping together, but then he came back into the picture,” the insider told the outlet amid rumors that Britney and Paul had been photographed together in late August.

The source went on to say, “As far as dating goes, Britney just wants to enjoy her freedom and meet hot guys — that seems to be the priority,” adding, “[But] it’s hard to know what Britney really wants down the line — it changes so frequently.”

On September 13, however, a source told ET that the two are involved. A source told the outlet that he “isn’t good for her” and that her team isn’t “supportive of the relationship.” That being said, Britney “likes him though” because "he makes her feel like he is acting as her protector and she finds comfort in that, especially as she moves through her split from Sam."

Over on X, a lot of fans expressed concern about Britney’s rumored new beau. “Oh god I feel bad but she has bad taste and I don’t mean cause his looks but I truly hope she finds someone who wouldn’t be giving interviews to press,” one fan commented. “Gosh this is terrible,” another follower wrote along with five skull emojis.

“Oh god, Britney, no! We’re not allowed to say anything negative about Britney these days but come on, as fans we can’t deny she have horrible taste or really bad luck with men,” another user chimed in, to which another fan pointed out, “We don’t even know if this guy is actually her boyfriend or not.”

Fans are clearly hoping that he isn’t… although a few did express hope to get a “Criminal” part two!