“Revenge is sweet  just ask Britney Spears!” announces Star magazine, which rarely seems to consider reality quite as “sweet” as scandal.

According to the tab, the pop queen discovered that boyfriend Jason Trawick has been allegedly having an affair with a former assistant named Jessica Steindorff.

So she’s getting “payback” by getting close with her bodyguard, Ryan. (For the record, Trawick is not with Steindorff.)

“They’ve been flirting and acting like a couple,” a Star “insider” claims. Adds a so-called “friend,” Spears “has trouble breaking up with.

A guy when the next one isn’t already waiting in the wings,” and “it looks like she’s getting retaliation on Jason and getting her next man at the same time!”

Star catalogues a few times Spears and Ryan have been seen together in public, failing to acknowledge that it’s fairly typical for bodyguards to be near the people they protect.

When it comes down to it, the tabloid can’t even convince itself Spears is getting romantic with Ryan, lamely admitting that she and Trawick still seem to be together.

“She may go out with Jason for appearance’s sake, but she’s caring about him less and less,” the Star insider explains, “Now it’s all about Ryan!”

Here the tab revisits the time honored practice of telling readers that what they see is actually only a mirage.

Only it’s not. It’s exactly what it appears to be.

A source close to Spears tells Gossip Cop, “She’s with Jason.”

Back in December, Star claimed Spears was pregnant. She was not.

Then the tab said she was already planning wedding choreography with Trawick. Nope, not true.

In April, according to Star, her relationship was supposedly “volatile.” Two months later, they’re still together.

At some point, Star should consider getting revenge on its “sources.”