Britney Spears glows with health on a beach break at Mel Gibson's Costa Rican ranch

11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Britney Spears looks fit and healthy as she relaxes on a beach – and shows she is putting her troubles behind her.

The singer appeared rounded and happy in a bikini as she took a much-needed break after a turbulent time when drink and drugs binges led to her being sectioned.

Scroll down for more...

Statuesque: Britney enjoys the surf as she perfects her tan

Statuesque: Britney enjoys the surf as she perfects her tan

Britney enjoys the sun in a white bikini

Britney enjoys the sun in a white bikini

Britney gets a ride from a male friend as she clambers onto a quad bike

Britney, 26, is on holiday with her father Jamie, staying with Braveheart actor Mel Gibson and his wife Robyn at his £13million ranch in Costa Rica.

Mel and Britney became friends while neighbours in Malibu, California, and it is thought he wants her to join his therapy group to help her battle her problems with drink and drugs.

Scroll down for more...

Relaxed: Britney enjoys a smoke on her stay with Braveheart actor Mel Gibson

Relaxed: Britney enjoys a smoke on her stay with Braveheart actor Mel Gibson

Making a splash: Britney looks a lot happier as she plays in the sea

Making a splash: Britney looks a lot happier as she plays in the sea

Taking control: A swell-looking Britney Spears steers a quad bike on a ride with her friend

Britney had been through a period of increasingly erratic behaviour due to her bitter custody battle with her ex-husband Kevin Federline over her sons, Sean Preston, two, and 20-month-old Jayden James.

She famously shaved off her hair, then in January held the boys hostage in a stand-off with authorities at her Los Angeles home.

A psychiatrist is thought to have treated her for bipolar disorder.

But last week, a judge granted her the right to spend three days a week with her sons under supervision.

But, sadly, Britney's troubles are not over.

There are reports a sex tape of her and British photographer Adnan Ghalib, 35, is about to be released.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in