Jan. 23, 2008

While the rest of the world was focused on the heartrending passing of Heath Ledger, Britney Spears was finding her way back into the arms of her paparazzi squeeze, Adnan Ghalib, a reunion that took place a couple days after rumors surfaced that she'd requested a restraining order against him -- and just as the first part of his tell-all interview with "Entertainment Tonight" hit the air.

But relationship drama wasn't all she had going on. Here's the latest on all things Brit:

Spears surprised many by making it into the courthouse Wednesday morning in a bid to win back monitored visitation (this time in a "therapeutic setting") with Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, which was stripped in the wake of her police standoff on Jan. 3.

Alas, the initial hopefulness of her responsible move (i.e. showing up for the emergency hearing she requested) quickly dimmed. She reportedly bailed out before the proceedings began, with her ex-hubby, Kevin Federline, who remained in court, retaining full custody.

Britney's no-show came after a day spent in the company of Ghalib and surrounded by his fellow shutterbugs, a topic he covered in his "ET" sit-down.

"Sometimes in life we prepare ourselves with things that may happen but I was definitely not prepared in any way shape or form for that," he said of the fateful December day when he went from covering the Britney story to becoming part of it. "[There] was an aggressive chase and at a stoplight in Hollywood she got out of her car and got into mine, and I think that's what made the difference."

When asked if he and Spears had a "sexual relationship," Adnan, whose wife of four years filed for a legal separation last week, indiscreetly answered in the affirmative.

"A lot of people perceive to know or understand her. She's the most photographed woman in the world," he continued. "It's just unfortunate that unless you take the time to scratch the surface and see what's really within, then you can only understand how truly, truly amazing she is."

Amazing enough to fall in love with? "I guess sometimes it's hard not to," he responded.

Amazing enough to marry?

"Would anyone say no?" wondered Ghalib, who should probably stick to speaking for himself and not everyone else.

The paparazzo also confirmed earlier police statements that no restraining order had been filed.

"It's far from over," he said of their liaison, "but then I don't have the ultimate say in this relationship."

Still, he was in the driver's seat -- literally at least -- on Tuesday afternoon, when he was spied holding hands and kissing Britney following lunch at a Malibu, Calif., eatery (per OK!).

Ghalib hopped behind the wheel of her white Mercedes for the trip back to Los Angeles, although the journey was not without incident. The rarely at rest luxury vehicle came into contact with a motorcyclist, although it appears the damage was minimal.

Not surprisingly, Ghalib's flashbulb brethren were on hand to document the fender bender for posterity.

Britney asked the pap horde whether the rider was OK before observing, "Did you [bleeping] see that? Like, he [bleeping] went into the [bleeping] car."

By early evening, Brit and Adnan had reportedly retreated to a room at the Regency Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Their quality time would seem to indicate that Spears, who on Sunday night slipped into her bizarre British accent to proclaim she had no idea who Ghalib even was, believed his assertion to "ET" that he had not received payment for the interview and was not selling her out behind her back.

Spears also apparently didn't mind him blabbing publicly about everything from the reasons for her cockney cadence ("She just thinks it's cute") to her hospitalization ("She didn't understand why she was taken to the hospital ... She didn't feel the need to be there") and mental state ("She is not crazy at all ... She never has suicidal tendencies").

"People don't like happy in Hollywood," opined Ghalib. "People don't want fairy-tale happy endings. I don't think anybody wants her to be happy. It's sad but it's very, very true."

Concluded the been-there, documented-that paparazzo, "Scandal sells."

But does Britney understand that better than anyone?

According to the New York Post, she's the one who keeps the constantly trailing cameramen up to date on her comings and goings.

"Britney is in on it," photographer Alison Silva maintains to private-eye-to-the-stars Paul Barresi. "[She] calls the paparazzi before she goes out. We know 15 minutes before she leaves the house. It's all staged."

That was the charge leveled when Spears and Ghalib were recently snapped at a Rite-Aid poring over various pregnancy tests, a photo op her hanger-on, Sam Lutfi, downplayed as them just "toying with the paparazzi."

Last week, Britney denied she'd taken the test, saying the one she purchased was "for a friend," but Ghalib tells "ET" that it was indeed intended for her.

"I think she was hoping she was pregnant with my child," asserts the lensman, who adds that Spears has a "very maternal instinct." "She felt that she was [pregnant] ... She was feeling a lot of things she said she felt when she was pregnant."

Turns out Spears wasn't expecting.

Still, it's likely she was left feeling queasy after her deposition on Monday with Federline's unflappable attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

"We are going over things that are very, very gut-wrenching," the legal pit bull explains to People. "Just to revisit them even in your own mind would not be pleasurable. It's not something anyone would enjoy."

And while Kaplan says he was encouraged that Britney appeared at the deposition after missing so many previous ones, he points out, "There is a lot of work to be done ... Showing up is form over substance."

Next: Romance Report: Paris' Lap Dance for Leto