Kevin Federline: Our Problems Make People Feel Normal

TUESDAY JANUARY 15, 2008 02:45 PM EST

Although the paparazzi follow their every move, Kevin Federline says his struggles with ex-wife Britney Spears are nothing unique.

"People put it up on this pedestal when it's really the same way that everybody else goes through their stuff, you know?" he tells Interview magazine in its February issue. "It's not really any different."

The only difference, he says, is the media attention.

"Even though everything is so publicized and everybody is looking at it, it's normal for us," he says. "I think the infatuation with the whole thing is that watching us go through things makes other people feel normal."

Asked if he's now America's most famous father, Federline laughs and says, "I don't know. Brad Pitt's pretty up there, too."

After testifying at a hearing on Monday focusing on Spears's recent meltdown, Federline, 29, retained sole legal and physical custody of sons Preston, 2, and Jayden, 1.

His ex-wife, Spears, 26, didn't attend the hearing. After arriving at the courthouse, she told a crush of photographers, "I'm scared. I want to get in the car," and drove away, ending up at a church and a restaurant. Another hearing is set for Feb. 19.