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| Madonna and Ritchie confirm split | Madonna and Ritchie confirm split |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Pop star Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie are to divorce after nearly eight years of marriage, their PR representatives have confirmed. | Pop star Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie are to divorce after nearly eight years of marriage, their PR representatives have confirmed. |
| Relations were still cordial and they expected to agree a settlement without going to court, added Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg. | Relations were still cordial and they expected to agree a settlement without going to court, added Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg. |
| The statement followed several months of speculation that the couple's relationship was in trouble. | The statement followed several months of speculation that the couple's relationship was in trouble. |
| In July, the singer's publicist said the marriage did not "need saving". | In July, the singer's publicist said the marriage did not "need saving". |
| The pair appeared together at last month's premiere of Ritchie's RocknRolla in London, walking arm-in-arm and posing for photographs in London's Leicester Square. | The pair appeared together at last month's premiere of Ritchie's RocknRolla in London, walking arm-in-arm and posing for photographs in London's Leicester Square. |
| Financial settlement | |
| Ritchie, 40, had rebutted suggestions his marriage was over with a public show of support at Madonna's 50th birthday party in August and also told a US magazine in July the marriage was "fine". | Ritchie, 40, had rebutted suggestions his marriage was over with a public show of support at Madonna's 50th birthday party in August and also told a US magazine in July the marriage was "fine". |
| The statement issued on Wednesday read: "Madonna and Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce after seven and a half years of marriage, their representatives confirmed today. | |
| The couple have two sons - Rocco (pictured in 2000) and David Banda | |
| "They have both requested that the media maintain respect for their family at this difficult time. | "They have both requested that the media maintain respect for their family at this difficult time. |
| "A final settlement has not been agreed upon yet." | "A final settlement has not been agreed upon yet." |
| Madonna is due to play a concert in Boston later as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour. | Madonna is due to play a concert in Boston later as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour. |
| Divorce lawyer Alan Kaufman said if the couple did go to court, it would be a different scenario to the divorce between Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, in which she was awarded a £24.3m settlement. | |
| The Sunday Times Rich List estimated that Madonna and Ritchie had a joint fortune of £300m, with most of that earned by the singer in her recording career. | |
| "We have this basic yardstick of equality and they look at 50-50," Mr Kaufman told the BBC News website. | |
| "You depart from it only if there's good reason to do so. | |
| "In this sort of case, she's bound to be saying - and you couldn't really argue - there's massive reasons to depart from it. | |
| "Because she will say, 'It's an eight-year marriage and a big chunk of wealth I already had before the marriage was started. Why should I share it?'" | |
| Scottish wedding | |
| Mr Kaufman said that if Ritchie "wanted to push it and he didn't mind a bit of adverse publicity, he's probably entitled to some more - but not a massive sum, nothing like half". | |
| It was very unlikely the public would find out the final settlement, even if it was decided in court, he added. | |
| In a rare move, the McCartney-Mills settlement was made public by a judge because of "overwhelming interest in the case". | |
| Madonna and Ritchie married in December 2000 at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands and have two sons - seven-year-old Rocco and David Banda, whose adoption from Malawi was approved in May. | |
| The singer also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from an earlier relationship. | The singer also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from an earlier relationship. |