Britney Spears and children spend New Year’s with married paparazzo

Britney Spears didn't have the best year in 2007 - she shaved her hair, paid several visits to rehab, gave a disastrous, now infamous performance at the VMAs - and saw the start of the bitter legal battle between herself and ex-husband Kevin Federline - but it seems the troubled 'Gimme More' star will be putting an end to a terrible year by spending New Year's with her two young sons - and her new paparazzi boyfriend Adnan Ghalib, who, sources claim, happens to be a married man!

A source close to the the Spears family told America's OK! magazine that Britney and Adnan - who hit the headlines last week when he stayed overnight with the singer in her Beverly Hills hotel room, and her two boys, Sean Preston, 2, and 1-year-old Jayden James, are spending New Year's Eve at a private beachfront residence near Dana Point, Calif. The source claims that they will also be joined by a court-appointed monitor, responsible for overseeing all of the boys' visits with their troubled mom.

While Adnan recently claimed that he and Britney were only having "lunch" during their overnight visit, he has been telling a different story to his pals. "He was bragging last week that the night he spent with her at the Peninsula was 'the best night of his life,'" one insider reveals to the publication.

The insider spoke about the photogs intentions, saying: "He's always played her knight in shining armor. Not just because he's a gentleman, but because he's a true mercenary."

The source recalls one recent incident where Britney was hiding inside of a locked utility closet in a Target store in Culver City, Calif. "He told me that the reason he talked to her through the door and convinced her to let him escort her to her car was because if she were to leave the store through the back loading dock, he wouldn't get good photos."