Britney's ex opens up exclusively to People about raising their sons, the pop star's breakdown -- and why he still loves her. Here are the highlights.

Since K-Fed and Britney split in 2006, Federline has been a full-time dad to sons Preston, 3, and Jayden, 2. While Britney has spiraled out of control, K-Fed has been behind the scenes tending to their two young children. Sure, he's been the butt of many jokes ... but he says his top priority is his kids.

Now that Britney is getting her life back on track, they're sharing parenting duties again and Federline is ready to tell his side of the story exclusively to People. The issue hits newsstands Friday, but here's a sneak peek:

Do you remember when you first met Britney?

I met her at a club in Hollywood, Joseph's. Our eyes met and that was it. We just hit it off right away. I learned real fast how much of a whirlwind the press and everything was.

What are your happiest memories of the marriage?

Well, getting married. I never thought that I would get married but it wound up happening. That was a really, really, happy, exciting moment. I pretty much realized that I was giving my life to her, and I was doing it without question.

What went wrong?

It's hard enough to be in a marriage, and then have a kid, then kids, it changes everything. For me, I'd become more concerned with my children. Not that I ignored Britney, but my kids are always most important ... I mean, we were having complications. I didn't give her an ultimatum, but I was trying to work stuff out with her, and she didn't even talk to me or anything and went behind my back and filed [for divorce]. [I was] completely blindsided.

A lot of people assumed you fought for custody of the kids because of money.

My first question to [my lawyer] was, "Am I ever going to be able to see my children?" I told him that I would spend every last dime that I had to make sure that my children are okay. That's all that mattered. I didn't know how much power Britney had. That really scared me.

How did you react in January when Britney locked herself in the bathroom with Jayden and was later taken to the hospital on a gurney?

That whole night is a blur. You want to talk about one of my lowest points of depression, that was probably one of them. I was very, very worried for her 'cause I care about her. That's the mother of my children. Just because I'm not in love with her doesn't mean that I don't love her. I'm definitely rooting for her. There's nothing more that I want than for her to be in the best health and doing what she loves to do.

Are things getting better?

Oh, man, it's totally turning around. It works out that [the kids] get to see her. There's structure over there, there's structure at my house. We're trying to keep the same type of schedule. It doesn't have to be completely perfect, but the foundation is there.

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