Madonna, Ritchie to divorce: spokeswoman

Pop megastar Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie, seen here, have agreed to divorce

　　Pop megastar Madonna and her British film director husband Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce, a spokeswoman for Madonna said on Wednesday.

　　"Madonna and Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce after seven and a half years of marriage, their representatives confirmed today," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

　　"They have both requested that the media maintain respect for their family at this difficult time."

　　The confirmation followed a report in Britain's Sun tabloid quoting a source who said Ritchie, 40, had pushed for the split.

　　Madonna, who is in the middle of her "Sticky and Sweet" world tour, married Ritchie in December 2000 in a lavish ceremony at a Scottish castle after meeting at a dinner party given by British rock star Sting.

　　The couple have an eight-year-old son, Rocco, and a three-year-old son adopted in Malawi, David Banda. Madonna also has a daughter, 12-year-old Lourdes, by her former fitness trainer Carlos Leon.

　　In July, Madonna took the rare step of issuing a formal denial of reports linking her to Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez, adding in a statement: "My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce."

　　But according to The Sun, Ritchie -- the director of moderately successful gangster films including "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" -- has become frustrated.

　　He sees his superstar spouse as a "dead weight around his neck" and now wants a divorce to be agreed quickly, the source was quoted as saying.

　　"Guy's said if they were going to split, it has to be now -- and their marriage will finally be over in a matter of weeks," the source told The Sun.

　　Madonna was previously married to US actor Sean Penn, from 1985 to 1989.

　　In July, Madonna's brother said he believed she was committed to her marriage to Ritchie.

　　"She's not the kind of person just to walk away," Christopher Ciccone told US television, adding that the pop legend will "do what's best for her family and her kids.

　　(Agencies)

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