Pop queen Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie are poised to announce their divorce, it has been reported.

A statement confirming the split has been prepared and will soon be released, the UK's Sun reports.

A source was quoted in the newspaper as saying the pair were going public with the divorce because they "couldn't bear to live with the pretence any longer".

International media have swarmed on the reports although a representative for the couple has refused to comment.

The claims come after months of speculation the couple were leading separate lives and had already broken up.

Madonna was recently linked to New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez, who ended his marriage with wife Cynthia following the allegations.

The 50-year-old singer and Ritchie, 40, married in December 2000 at Skibo Castle in northeast Scotland.

They met at a party hosted by ex-Police frontman Sting and his wife Trudie Styler.

Their son, Rocco, was several months old on their wedding day, and in 2006 Madonna applied to adopt David Banda, a boy from Malawi whose mother died shortly after his birth.

The adoption was approved by a Malawian court in May.

Madonna also has a daughter, Lourdes, from an earlier relationship.

She was married once before, to Hollywood actor Sean Penn, in the 1980s.

Madonna is one of the most successful rock stars of all time, with global album sales estimated at more than 200 million copies.

A multi-Grammy award winner, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March.

Oh well. Ho hum.

interestingly,A-Rod was spotted in the audience at one of Madonna's NY concerts the other night

where's my surprised face?

if it is true hope they remain committed for the kids.

It's definitely true.Apparently,they decided a long time ago to end the marriage.It was just a matter of timing.They both decided to officially end it before Christmas.Divorce is sad and painful but I think it's for the best.The worst thing they could do is pretend that everything is okay when it really isn't.The children can sense when there is tension between their parents.

We all saw this coming.All you have to do is listen to Madonna's 'Hard Candy' CD.The lyrics of several songs paint a less-than-rosy picture of their relationship.

All my dreams they fade away...I'll never be the same
If you could see me the way you see yourself
I can't pretend to be someone else
You always love me more....miles away
I guess we're at our best when we're miles away

They've been together 8 years....made it last as long as they could.

ehuffnsd said:

It's right there on the floor next to your bj-kneepads.

SoulAlive said:

I also heard they recently had dinner together in Sept?

I figured it was going to happen but I hoped it wasn't true. Have either of them indicated why?

JackieBlue said:

Yeah,I heard about her and A-Rod having dinner recently.At first,I dismissed the rumors of an affair but now I'm not so sure.You would think that they both would cool it for awhile...at least until their divorces are finalized

My theory is....Madonna and Guy just grew apart.They spent alot of time away from each other,focusing on their own careers.A marriage like that is bound to fail.

SoulAlive said:

I'm still not sure I believe the affair. Maybe they were out because they have nothing to hide? Who knows. I never really understood growing apart if you really love your spouse. Now if you can't stand each other "See ya!"

JackieBlue said:

You really don't believe the affair? I think this might be ONE of the reasons why Guy gave up on the marriage.

I have no doubt that Madonna was happy in her marriage,with the kids and all,but sometimes I get the feeling that she misses the excitement of her "single" days.The other night at Madison Square Garden,when she jumped on Pharrell I think she misses that kinda fun!

at least we will get some sad ballads on the next cd as a result

SoulAlive said:

The affair is probably true and that's horribly tacky. Especially with A-Rod. Maybe she got bored with Guy? Madge seems so much more energetic livlier and fun. From what I've seen Guy can be fun too but I'd choose Madge to hang out with.
[Edited 10/15/08 6:01am]

peppeken said:

You bring up an interesting point.Will Madonna write about the divorce on her next CD? After divorcing Sean Penn,she wrote stuff like "Til Death Do Us Part".

JackieBlue said:

I also think that maybe Guy is sick of being "Mr.Madonna".He's a very talented movie director but all of his projects get overshadowed by her! It can't be easy being married to someone like Madonna.

SoulAlive said:

I don't know why men like this marry powerful women. Not to say that this is the case but it comes up a lot when the woman is more successful. I see them as two separate people and artists but I guess in their private world it’s a different story. I wonder if she will ever marry again.

Argh! I don't tragic sad songs! I want more dance music!

JackieBlue said:

see,I'm the opposite.I LOVE Madonna's sad songs! When I first heard "Miles Away",I went nuts.I had been aching to hear a song like that from her....where she's honest and vulnerable.She lays out all of her marital problems in that song and nothing ever gets resolved.She resigns herself to the fact that...

I guess we're at our best when we're miles away

I love stuff like that! It's a very desperate song.

SoulAlive said:

I love Miles Away from the first moment I heard it and she’s given us quite a bit of uptempo so I guess I can take some ballads... Rain, Crazy for You, You’ll See, Live to Tell, etc. I love most of her slow songs. Altho I can appreciate them, I tend to never listen to them as much as uptempo tracks because they bum me out. Unless they’re baby making songs.

Seems the statement has been released.

So sad.

http://news.sky.com/skyne...er_Reports

For some reason, I could never imagine Madonna having a life-time marriage. Well, I hope they both handle it well.

It isn't really a surprise, once the A-Rod stuff started coming out,
it was only a matter of time. I hope Madonna and him can stay friends.
Does anyone know, I know Madonna's oldest child is with another guy, are
the 2 of them still close?

I hope so.

That might indicate on some level if Madonna and Guy will make a
"friendship" for the children work as well.

Vanilli said:

Apparently they are VERY close and he is living in her apartment in New York right now. They have become very close again recently and Lourdes has said she wants to spend more time with her dad too.

Could be watch this space

...

HamsterHuey said:

Madonna on the loose.

I repreat.

Madonna on the loose.

I had no interest in this, but I just heard that Guy stands to get half of her fortune, since they have no pre-nup. Here's hoping Guy shows no shame, and takes a hefty chunk out of her ill-gotten gains.

midnightmover said:

Each day Madonna is looking more and more like mommy dearest

Who cares? People are divorcing everyday nowadays.