Madonna Gains Sympathy Before the Battle Royal

In a UK Sun article today Madonna managed to get my sympathy.

Why? Let's just say divorce brings out the vulnerability in all of us. I myself am divorced. The experience had me come to terms with many aspects of life and mortality. I have friends now divorcing. They too are navigating a mine field of emotions. There is so much you learn and accept in this experience.

So as I read this article linked above I had pity for Madonna. I mean, in the past I've blasted her. Mostly because I was first in awe of her as a young man. She was a few years older than me in high-school but she was a product of my time. Stunning sexy, cunning and smart. She seemed the total package. Then I saw her Truth or Dare movie and realized her a fraud. That was rough. I mean she was an icon to me with her marketing expertise up to that point. Then I realized she was really just damn lucky for playing the sex card. She didn't have a master plan, it was all just "Look at me, Look at me!" The shock of her sex play was really all she had. She just knew one thing, up the ante each time. Eventually she took it as far as it could go. So if you watch Truth or Dare you can see her for the actual vacant bubblehead she is. I mean her no disrespect. Believe it, I never wanted to realize this truth about her.

Then she married. OK, no big deal. At least she married a rugged man, one with fire in his veins. For such a domineering woman, it would take a man like him to handle and accept her. I think I really understand their relationship as I feel I had walked a mile in those shoes.

So where am I heading? Well, Madonna for all her hype of being too tough for love and independent, she has inadvertently shown her softer side throughout the article in the U.K. Sun today. First hand information from family members delineates Madonna's true hope of having been in a real true love relationship. You know, the one we all dream of when we are in our teens. Where girls find their prince charming, and we men find our fairest of maidens worthy of our undying affection.

The moment you put that ring on your finger, you are in it. And you better had believed you found your true love for there is no going back. That is what you think when you marry. Then comes the cold stark reality of divorce. Ninety percent of divorces are initiated by women. Men are usually the ones left in the twilight of hope wondering, "What could have been different to made love good again?" Men are usually the ones thinking they were romantically done wrong. Mostly, men are usually the ones thinking "Did she ever really love me." Then I read this article.

Here in Madonna's case, through family I read, “Did you ever actually love me?” quoted by Madonna towards her husband Guy, I felt sympathetic, empathetic. The woman may have been a phony all these years in terms of actual brains, but at least she wanted to be in real love. I'll give her that. The article went on to nail down the truth. Sources were quoted:

“If you can pinpoint an exact event or incident which spelled the death knell for them as a couple, Madonna’s horse-riding accident was it. Every other row the couple had following that boiled down to what happened that summer.”

It turns out Madonna had fallen from a horse in 2005 and Guy didn't display the affection Madonna desired in the wake of the accident. It was a serious accident too. Not life threatening but serious. Madonna broke her collar bone, scapula, four ribs and left knuckle. She had spent some time in hospital and her husband Guy's bedside manner was more in keeping with her public image and not her private reality. The tough as nails businesswoman in stiletto boots was pure fiction here. Madonna wanted to be treated like a vulnerable wife to be protected by her man. Sun sources quote Guy had “abandoned her emotionally.” and that “She was so furious at what she saw as Guy’s lack of support and cruelty that she told him she was wrong to marry him as he couldn’t possibly be her soulmate.”

Again, I don't see much coming from Madonna's mouth that I feel she is all that intellectually keen, but she did make one comment that gave me reason to think she understands the value of love from an American man. The article quotes her reflecting, “Madonna’s convinced British men are light years behind Americans when it comes to emotional honesty and sophistication.” Now that I can agree with. Not that British men are backwards, but that American men are emotionally honest. I think British men bare a great deal of sophistication. I digress...

Madonna is going through it. And I have a funny feeling she is going to handle her divorce in an immature way. If I were a betting man, I'd bet heavy on this. Why? Like I said, I think I know her situation well. Just today Madonna chose to air her dirty laundry in public. On stage in Boston she announced her son Miles Away (inspired by Guy) was for the "emotionally retarded". Her exact words were: “This song is for the emotionally retarded. Maybe you know some people who fall into that category. I know I do.”Just days ago on October 6, 2008 Madonna announced, “In exactly 29 moves, the Queen will dump the King.”

If I really have Madonna pegged right. This will be a battle royal over the children. Mark my words.

For now, Madonna has a sympathetic heart. When marriages end, love doesn't die. It grows stronger. They say love and hate walk a thin line. No they don't. That hate you get directed at you is actually someone's inability to love. That is why people hurt each other. Personalities like Madonna's don't lack the desire to love, they simply lack the ability to love.

So while we wait for the fight to emerge. Take a moment to lament the lose of Madonna's childhood dream. A fairytale marriage. In respect to love, she is now one of us.

It's Official This Time: Madonna Headed For Divorce

Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced Wednesday they are divorcing after nearly eight years of marriage. I'm a little bummed, I liked them a lot.

The couple issued a brief statement by their representatives Wednesday, asking for respect from the press for their family's sake.

“Madonna and Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce after 7 1/2 years of marriage,” her rep confirmed.

A financial settlement has not been agreed on by the wealthy couple, who also must decide child custody issues.

Madonna and Ritchie married in December 2000. The couple have two children: Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006. Madonna also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from her relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon.

So does this mean that Madonna may now be free to admit that she's been seeing A-Rod? Could those rumors a few months ago have been true? An A-Rod source reveals, “A-Rod and Madonna are more involved than ever. Alex has really missed spending time with Madonna. However, he understands the position Madonna’s in.”

I really hope this divorce doesn't get nasty, they've got a lot of kids to worry about!

More A-Rod divorce news

The divorce between New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez and his estranged wife, Cynthia Rodriguez, is starting to get nasty.

The British tabloid The Sun has reported that Cynthia has text messages her husband sent Madonna.

According to an anonymous source, "They were instrumental in convincing her that he was besotted. The messages could be released if things get really ugly."

A friend of A-Rod was also quoted as saying that the baseball star acted like a "smitten schoolboy" as he swapped texts with the Queen of Pop.

Cynthia also talked to New York Post columnist Cindy Adams, her first comments since she filed for divorce Monday.

She said that she still loves her husband, but his alleged affairs have caused her too much pain.

She also discussed her decision to take her daughters to Miami while Alex remained in New York as the rumors of his affair with Madonna were made public.

"My husband knew I was going. He encouraged it," she said. "I needed to get away. With clear-headed friends. To breathe. To think how I'm going to handle my kids. I just needed a little time."

Cynthia also refuted reports that she ran off to Paris with friend Lenny Kravitz, leaving her children at home. She also denied that she went on a $100,000 shopping spree to punish Alex for the infidelity reports.

"Not one word of those stories is true," she said. "I never before in all my married life together ever went away without my husband or family. Not once in 13 years."

"I did not spend one dollar shopping in Paris. I did not go to super-fancy expensive restaurants. I did not go to any spa. I didn't do one thing," she added. "I spent the most innocent four days with my children's godparents, who are as close to us as family. My husband and I were already into our problems and I didn't know where to go, what to do. I needed to think. To clear my head."

She also said that her divorce has been very upsetting for her close-knit family, and that her three-year-old daughter is asking for her father.

Madonna's brother reveals steamy allegations

Christopher Ciccone, Madonna's estranged brother, makes some shocking allegations in his unauthorized biography about the Queen of Pop, which hits shelves July 15.

In 'Life With My Sister Madonna,' Ciccone details how his Kabbalah-practicing sister received counseling from a rabbi to save her marriage.

He claims that Madonna and her husband, British director Guy Ritchie, fought over where to raise their children. Ritchie wanted to live in London while Madonna preferred New York.

Ciccone, who is openly gay, also blames his estrangement from his sister on Ritchie. In his book, he accuses Ritchie of homophobia and, according to a quote from a Chicago Sun-Times columnist, claims his relationship with Madonna went downhill ever since her 2000 wedding.

'Life With My Sister Madonna' also reveals Ciccone's allegations about his sister's relationship with Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, whose wife filed for divorce Monday, as well her rampant drug use and past lesbian flings.

These include one with close friend Gwyneth Paltrow, who Ciccone claims shared a kiss with the Material Girl once when they were partying at a club.

According to an unidentified source who was quoted in the British tabloid The Sun, "The book is a warts-and-all account. Chris [Ciccone] was there for all the key moments in Madonna's life."

Madonna's rep has stated that her client had no part in the book, although there were rumors that the singer met with lawyers to discuss legal methods of stopping its publication.

E! Online has reported that Ciccone is already preparing for a book tour, and his first on-camera interview will air July 14 with Good Morning America's Deborah Roberts.

A-Rod's wife files for divorce, alleges infidelity

Cynthia Rodriguez, the wife of baseball star Alex Rodriguez, filed for divorce Monday, citing infidelity in her petition for dissolution of marriage.

It comes shortly after rumors circulated that A-Rod was having an affair with Madonna, although it does not mention the pop star or any other women by name.

"The marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken because of the husband’s extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct," read the petition, which was filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court.

It also stated that Cynthia Rodriguez had attempted to salvage her marriage to the New York Yankees' third baseman, who was selected Sunday to his twelfth MLB All-Star game.

"Alex has emotionally abandoned his wife and children and has left her with no choice but to divorce him," the filing read.

The couple, who have been married since November 2002, have two children, three-year-old Natasha Alexander and two-month-old Ella Alexander.

In her petition, Cynthia Rodriguez requested primary custody of her daughters, child support and alimony.

"Cynthia has made it very clear to me that she wants to take the high road and protect her children and herself. There's no vindictiveness here," said her lawyer, Maurice Kutner. "She wants to resolve the issues between Alex and herself in an amicable fashion."

Cynthia Rodriguez has recently been linked by the media to rocker Lenny Kravitz after she visited him at his Paris home. She said she went to France to escape the New York media frenzy and denied allegations that she was having an affair with him.

Madonna denies divorce rumors

Madonna refuted divorce rumors that have plagued her marriage to Guy Ritchie in an exclusive statement to People.

"My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce," she stated.

She also addressed rumors that she was having an affair with Major League Baseball's Alex Rodriguez, and that she was converting him to Kabbalah.

"I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us," she said in the statement. "I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage or what spiritual path he may choose to study."

According to sources, the rumors about the pop star and the New York Yankees' third baseman were exacerbated when Rodriguez's wife blamed the affair on the end of her marriage.

Madonna has been no stranger to rumors and gossip throughout her long career.

"I have learned over the years not to take accusations and the many false reports about me very seriously," she said in the statement. "I also appreciate how fiction and fact seem to be perceived as one and the same by people who read both newspapers and the internet."

Lenny Kravitz & A-Rod's Wife, An Item?

Who to believe!? Who is with who?! Singer Lenny Kravitz has issued a statement denying reports of an affair and clarifying his relationship with Alex Rodriguez’s wife, Cynthia Rodriguez. On Wednesday afternoon, both Perez Hilton and the New York Post reported that Alex Rodriguez’s wife, Cynthia Rodriguez, had left him for Lenny Kravitz. The Post said that she is in Paris, France, with the rocker and was spotted outside his home as recently as Tuesday.

Lenny states, “There is absolutely no affair between Cynthia Rodriguez and myself. This is unequivocally 100 percent not true. Cynthia Rodriguez is a friend and is here with the godfather of her baby, who is also Alex’s trainer, and his wife and their baby girl. Cynthia came here to escape from everything that has been going on in New York City. I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extremely hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer.”

This alleged news of her affair is straight after the media revealed rumors that Madonna and Alex Rodriguez were having an affair, with the two of them supposedly making late night visits to eachother in their New York apartments.

A-Rod is a dad for the 2nd time

Baseball star Alex Rodriguez and his wife Cynthia welcomed their second child Monday. The 7 lbs., 2 oz girl was born in Miami, and will join the couple's three-year-old daughter Natasha.

"We are thrilled with the birth of our second daughter and the blessing of having two beautiful, healthy children in our lives," said Rodriguez, third baseman for the New York Yankees and a two-time American League MVP.

"A new baby girl, so that's exciting," Yankees manager Joe Girardi told the Associated Press on Tuesday.

"We're thrilled. We can't wait," Cynthia Rodriguez told People when the couple announced the pregnancy in October. "It's almost more exciting [than the first child] in a way, because you can anticipate what you already know is so amazing."

Rodriguez has been undergoing treatment for a strained right quadricep, but he will rejoin his team tomorrow and be re-evaluated by doctors. He has played 20 games so far this season, and has a .308 batting average, 4 home runs and 10 RBIs.