Brazilian Olympic gold medal favourite Gabriel Medina, who spectacularly split from stepfather-coach after surprise marriage to model last year, throws weight of eight-million Instagram followers behind Free Britney Spears campaign!

A little close to home for two-time world champ… 

The Brazilian two-time world champion and Olympic gold hopeful Gabriel Medina, no stranger to the machinations of the parent-child relationship, has taken to Instagram to support the American singer Britney Spears, who is attempting to wrestle control of her multi-million dollar fortune back from her daddy. 

Twelve years ago, y’see, Britney appeared to go a little nuts, not surprising given the fame, money, muscle studs, and she got thrown into hospital, rehab etc. 

Her ol boy Jamie took on the role of managing the kid, the cash, under a conservatorship ruling where a judge appoints an individual or organization to care for another adult who is deemed unfit to care for themselves or to manage their own finances.

Britney, now thirty-eight years old, with two kids and a Vegas headliner, says she ain’t so crazy anymore and wants control of her life, cash back. The hashtags #FREEBritney is trending, as they say, and Gabriel Medina is very much on the Britney train, perhaps, given his own travails with his own pappy. 

Five months ago we noted the apparent rift between Gabriel and his family after his marriage to actress and model Yasmin Brunet.

Media in Brazil reported that “Neither the surfer nor Yasmin follow Charles Medina and Simone Medina, Gabriel’s stepfather, whom he always called his father, and his mother. The two also stopped participating in the networks of the model and her son” and speculated that parental sadness over losing their lil man, the ol empty nest syndrome, may have driven the split. 

For those who know the Medina family, Charles and Simone would be concerned about their son’s future on the waves. Although Gabriel opened the 20-21 calendar well, with a runner-up in December, they fear the boy’s focus has shifted.

“They have always lived through Gabriel’s career. Imposing discipline, giving strength and controlling everything closely. Now, he is no longer a boy and shares his life with his wife. It is undeniable how passionate they are,” says a friend.

Yasmin and Gabriel met at the beginning of last year and soon went to quarantine together.

The internship ended at a wedding in December in Hawaii. Without the presence of relatives. Charles and Simone are also afraid, according to people close to them, of the type of exposure that the marriage between Gabriel and Yasmin has.

In a brief search on the internet, most news related to the athlete is about the couple and not their profession. At 27, Gabriel Medina, one of the greatest surfers in the world, still has a lot of waves to catch.

“Their fear is that after so much sacrifice, everything will fall apart because of the marriage,” says one of the sources.

Pretty interested to hear readers’ takes on the parent-child relationship.

Like, when do you let go?

When do you let the little creature whom you’ve adored and nurtured and protected since birth make their own mistakes, skate minus helmet, fill their precious lil lungs with vape smoke, experiment with gender and so on?