Britney Spears Splits From Jason Trawick

Britney Spears has announced she has split up from her fiance just hours after confirming she had quit as a judge on US X Factor.

Spears, 31, and Jason Trawick, 41 - her former agent - had been engaged since December 2011.

In a statement the pop star said: "Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement. I'll always adore him and we will remain great friends."

Trawick added: "As this chapter ends for us a new one begins. I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever."

The couple's relationship began in May 2010, following a turbulent few years in Spears' personal and professional life in which she lost custody of her two sons, entered rehab and shaved off her hair.

Trawick helped oversee many of Spears' personal and financial matters, along with her father Jamie, after her breakdown.

The wedding would have been the third for Spears. She divorced dancer Kevin Federline, the father of her children, in 2006.

The singer also spontaneously married childhood friend Jason Alexander during a trip to Las Vegas in 2004, a union which lasted 55 hours before it was annulled.

Spears announced the split on the same day she confirmed she was leaving The X Factor after one year as a judge, saying it was time to get back to making music.

It is understood Spears may have plans to make another album and is also considering offers from Las Vegas hotels for a long-running show there.

She said it was a very difficult decision not to return to the programme, and added: "I had an incredible time doing the show and I love the other judges and I am so proud of my teens but it's time for me to get back in the studio.

"Watching them all do their thing up on that stage every week made me miss performing so much! I can't wait to get back out there and do what I love most."

Spears' most recent album, Femme Fatale, was released in March 2011.