Madonna and Guy hoping for ‘harmonious’ divorce
From the Evening Standard:
Madonna will announce her divorce from Guy Ritchie in the next 24 hours, entitling him to as much as half her £300 million fortune, according to the Evening Standard.
A statement on the pop star’s split is imminent, and it is expected to be made through her publicist in New York, where Madonna is on tour.
A source said today the couple were desperate to avoid the acrimony that surrounded Sir Paul McCartney’s divorce from Heather Mills and were intent on keeping the split “harmonious” for the sake of their children.
“I would expect a comment in the next 24 hours,” a friend of the couple said today, “They will want to keep this as harmonious as possible.”
Legal sources said Ritchie, 40, may now be entitled to half of Madonna’s wealth after eight years of a stormy marriage. If he were to walk away with £150 million it would make it one of the biggest divorce payouts in history.
The huge sum would be based on their 10-year relationship – relatively long for a celebrity marriage, his support of her career and the fact that they have two children together, Rocco, eight, and adopted David Banda, two. A leading divorce lawyer told the Standard: “Guy Ritchie is entitled to half her wealth. This is a relatively lengthy marriage and he could argue he has assisted his wife to enhance her career. His own career has arguably suffered as a result of the need to support his wife.
“It is up to Madonna to make the case why he should not get half her money.”
Madonna, 50, is said to be worth at least £300 million, making her one of the world’s richest women. Ritchie, director of Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and the recent RocknRolla has his own independent wealth, estimated at around £30 million.
While sources have insisted the divorce will not be bitter, the couple will need to work out how to care for their children.
Ritchie has his own country estate in Wiltshire while the couple’s London home near Oxford Street is owned by Madonna.
But if Madonna plans to move back to New York, as has been speculated, that could spark a battle over access and custody. Madonna’s eldest child Lourdes, 12, by the dancer Carlos Leon, is said to want to spend more time with her natural father in the US.
Unless Ritchie gives permission to Madonna to remove the children from London, she would need to seek a court order to do so or else face a potential kidnapping charge, the legal source warned today.
The divorce is also complicated by the adoption of baby David in Malawi where Ritchie and Madonna will have presented themselves as a stable, happily married couple.
The divorce could even lead to a legal challenge over the adoption.
The couple will want to avoid the kind of publicity McCartney was exposed to during his two-year, £25 million divorce from Ms Mills.
Madonna’s split from Ritchie has been a long time coming with speculation rife about the state of their marriage for some months.
A spokeswoman for Madonna declined to comment on the latest reports and said nothing would be announced until “America wakes up” later today.
At Ritchie’s father’s house in Chelsea today, nobody was commenting. A man, who answered the door, said: “We won’t be talking to the press at all today.”
From This is London.
