“Exploited?,” asks Jon. “I don’t even want to use that word, because I think it’s ridiculous,” he says heatedly. Jon insists his children’s happiness will remain his focus – even if keeping them happy means quitting the show.

The married Neild — who once worked for Bill Clinton, and is often photographed not wearing his wedding band — were “very physical, often touching each other,” says an employee at a recent promotional appearance for their TLC reality show. “She was gently poking him, giving him little love pats, totally unlike the slapping she does with Jon. She and Steve were joking around so much, I actually wondered if they were having an affair. There’s a lot of open affection between them.” The employee adds Kate showed no affection at all to Jon at the same event.

“I spent four years, 24-7, planning this house,” says Spelling of the French chateau-style house, which boasts five acres of manicured grounds, a tennis court, a swimming pool and a beauty salon. “Now I need something smaller – just for me.” Her plan? To move into a 17,000-sq.-ft. condo (the same size as an attic in her present home). “I’m going to have to give up some things, but it’s time for a change,” she says.

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The circus-themed extravaganza, played out across an adventurous three-ring set, opened with an extended introduction featuring clowns, acrobats and jugglers, making it way too long before Spears finally hit the stage.

Descending from above in a red ringmaster-meets-dominatrix outfit to sing her hit “Circus,” she showed that her body was tight, even if her dancing always wasn’t. Indeed, throughout the show’s four sections, there was a lot more strutting than real choreographic feats from Spears. And there was a decided lack of joy in her performance, which felt labored at times.

It didn’t help that she hardly engaged the audience, not addressing them at all until after her lone encore, “Womanizer,” performed in sexed-up cop uniforms. Given that Spears probably doesn’t do much live singing either, it left a definite chill in the air.

The show was all about the spectacle, with vibrant visuals, illusions, Cirque du Soleil-inspired aerialists and an army of dancers taking some of the focus – and the pressure – away from Spears. There was one major miscue, when Spears didn’t join two backup singers for a rendition of Duffy’s “I’m Scared” – apparently because the lyric sheet went missing onstage.

When she wrapped the concert about 90 minutes after emerging, she seemed more relieved than anything that it was all over.