Will She, Won't She?

• 23rd Dec 2008

First Madonna reportedly wasn't going to pay Guy Ritchie a penny in their divorce settlement, then she was paying him a record breaking £50 million, now she's paying him, well, somewhere between zero and £50 million.

Madonna and Ritchie yesterday said they are both happy with their divorce agreement in a joint statement issued by the film director's publicist. However, the statement added that those reports earlier in the week quoting Madge's US spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg, which said the singer was giving her ex £50 million as part of the divorce settlement, are untrue. Specifics of the arrangement between the couple are and will remain private, they added.

The statement read: “We have tried to maintain a dignified silence regarding the details of our divorce for the last few months whilst accepting the obvious media interest. A misleading and inaccurate statement, specifically in relation to the sums of money involved, was wrongly issued to AP this week. The financial details of the settlement will remain private, save to say that both of us are happy with our agreement”.

As previously reported, there were originally reports that the Madonna/Ritchie divorce could turn nasty once the couple had admitted their marriage was over, with speculation that Ritchie might fight for and win a record cash settlement. However, their choice of lawyers suggested custody of the couple's children was always the primary issue (ie they chose lawyers who specialise in custody negotiations), and a formal agreement regarding the divorce was actually reached very quickly and without much stress.