Britney Spears Was ‘Desperate’ To Leave Rehab: ‘It’s Ultimately Her Life and Her Decision’

Friends are worried that Britney Spears bailed on rehab way too early.

On Sunday, April 12, a rep for the Princess of Pop, 44, confirmed to People that she’d voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility, five weeks after she was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol in Ventura, California.

By Monday, May 1, the news outlet reported that she was out.

“Obviously, everyone wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, but the fact she checked out of rehab after less than a three-week stay doesn’t bode well from a lot of people’s perspectives,” a source tells Star. “Anyone with her extent of issue needs a bare minimum of 30 days’ treatment, usually 60 or ideally a full 90, to learn the correct tools that are needed for a full reset.”

The choice to leave treatment appears to have been Spears’ own.

“Britney was desperate to get out [of rehab] and deal with her upcoming court case,” reveals the source, “and nobody stood in her way because it’s ultimately her life and her decision.”

The “Toxic” singer did not attend her Monday, May 4 arraignment, but her lawyer Michael A. Goldstein pleaded guilty on her behalf, accepting a plea deal which, according to The New York Times, requires her to serve 12 months probation, complete a three-month substance abuse program and pay a $571 fine.

People are “hoping and praying she checks herself back at the earliest opportunity,” adds Star’s source. “She desperately needs to take this path to sobriety seriously and such a short stint of treatment is by no means enough.”