Late 2007, paparazzo Adnan Ghalib took pictures of Britney Spears when the pop star suddenly jumped into his car to escape the throngs of photographers following her. That fateful moment was the beginning of a surreal relationship between Ghalib and Spears – a relationship that he presented to his wife. AzLynn Berry, as nothing more than a friendship, but which she soon discovered was much more. Now, in an exclusive interview with We weeklyBerry speaks out for the first time about the affair and that tumultuous time in her life.

Berry says her relationship with Ghalib, whom she married in 2003 at the age of 23, had always been rocky, partly because of his wandering eye. “He didn't have a history of being honest when it came to his relationship status,” she claims.

Still, Berry was determined to make everything work. “I come from a very religious background [and] my family had none [history] of divorce,” she explains. “I [also had] lots of people-pleasing behavior and was constantly trying to prove my worth to be loved. It was kind of an impossible situation to build something real from that place.” (Multiple attempts to reach Ghalib were unsuccessful.)

Nevertheless, according to Berry, her relationship with Ghalib was at a “high point” when he started seeing Spears. “It was the closest we had ever been,” she says, emphasizing that she and Ghalib were “definitely still married” at the time.

Berry says the paparazzo told her he was trying to help Spears, acting almost like a personal assistant. “Britney was aware of the upcoming conservatorship,” Berry says. “He told me many intimate details [about her] … even mental health care.”

But Berry didn't know Ghalib and Spears were dating until January 2008, about three months after their affair, when a photo of them kissing in a parking lot in Santa Barbara, California, was published. Berry was shocked. “I'm pretty sure I called him, screaming and yelling. I probably texted him fifty times and waited for him to come back,” Berry said Uswho called the experience “extremely traumatic.”

In her memoirs, The woman in meSpears claimed she did not know Ghalib was married during their affair. Berry says that Spears' father, Jamie — who subsequently filed a restraining order against Ghalib after he and Spears split — “tried to alert Britney to my existence. [But] if you have a choice between listening to someone who has taken away some of your identity and the handsome man with a thick accent who is willing to treat you like a human being, then you will get what you want.

Years later, it's all water under the bridge for Berry, who says she's grateful Spears allowed her marriage to implode. “I am so incredibly grateful that this incredible person, for whatever reason, walked into my husband's life and removed him from mine,” she says.

Berry believes Ghalib manipulated her and Spears. “He was very charismatic. I would never leave Adnan,” adds Berry, who filed for legal separation on January 18, 2008. (Ghalib filed for divorce in June 2008.) “[Britney’s] presence was the catalyst strong enough to end the marriage, and I'm actually very grateful. I'm sure I would have committed suicide if I had stayed in a toxic relationship.

Berry and Ghalib had only sparing contact in 2010. Two years ago she broke off contact completely. We weekly discussed one of their last communications: a two-sentence handwritten note he left her when they broke up, in which he apologized for the way things turned out and that the situation “got messy.”

Today, Berry has a career in the wellness space. She is a contributing writer for Best holistic living magazine and works as an alignment and execution guide. She says talking about her painful past helps in her healing process. “Everyone is entitled to their perspective and story,” she says. “[Sharing it] is a very important part of reclaiming your voice.”