Madonna, Guy Granted Preliminary Divorce
Discreet is not a word that immediately springs to mind to describe Madonna, or her marriage to the British filmmaker Guy Ritchie. But it does apply to the a preliminary decree of divorce, granted today in London, while she is on tour in the U.S. and he's in England making a movie.
Neither bothered to show up in court, reports CBS News correspondent Liz Palmer.
"Ciccone M L v Ritchie G S" was one of 17 cases given a preliminary decree; after six weeks and a day, the divorce can become final.
"Once she has finished with something, as we have seen so many times in her personal and professional life, she is finished with that, period," celebrity commentator Neil Sean told CBS News.
The decree said the divorce was granted on the basis of Ritchie's "unreasonable behavior," but did not elaborate.
The couple were married at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands in December 2000, when their son Rocco was a just few months old.
In 2006, they made headlines by adopting a toddler - David Banda - in Malawi.
For a short while they were a picture-book celebrity family. Then, cracks started to show …
"We'd love to spend more time with each other," she said. "It is an issue, it is an issue, yes," he concurred.
By the time they went on vacation in India this year, that "issue" had morphed into a big chill.
"When you look at the marriage itself, it has been deteriorating for the last five years," said Sean. "Madonna has spoken openly about finding marriage difficult, it wasn't all she had ever dreamed of."
"He doesn't necessarily need the money because he has always lived quite a wealthy life," Sean told CBS News.
Ritchie is director of "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."
She keeps her huge fortune - more than $400 million. He keeps his small one - about $35 million. And they will share custody of the two boys.
Reports in the Evening Standard and the Times of London said Rocco and David will split their time between Britain and the United States, while Lourdes - Madonna's 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon - will live with her mother in America.
Requests for comment from representatives for the couple were not returned.