Madonna and Guy Ritchie Divorcing, Rep Confirms
Guy Ritchie and Madonna
Madonna and
Guy Ritchie are divorcing after nearly eight years of marriage, a rep confirmed Wednesday in a joint statement to
The Associated Press.
"They have both requested that the media maintain respect for their family at this difficult time," the singer's rep, Liz Rosenberg, stated in the e-mail.
Rosenberg added that neither a financial settlement or custody issues have been ironed out.
Madonna and Ritchie are parents to three children: 12-year-old Lourdes, Madonna's daughter with fitness trainer Carlos Leon, Rocco, 8, and David, 3. Their fortune stands at an estimated $525 million.
"The judgment of the court would be to try and assess what they came in with and divide what they built up fairly equally," David Allison, a lawyer with London firm, Family Law in Partnership told the AP.
The confirmation comes after
various reports stated Wednesday that a divorce announcement is expected "imminently," and also ends months of speculation that the two were on the outs. Over the summer, Madonna was linked to New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez and was reportedly the cause of his split with his wife Cynthia.
In recent months, Madonna, 50, has been on the road on her global Sticky and Sweet tour and is expected to perform at her scheduled Wednesday and Thursday night shows in Boston.
Madonna and Ritchie, 40, married on Dec. 22, 2000, a year after being introduced by Sting and Trudie Styler.
