Friday, 21 November 2008

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Madonna and Guy granted preliminary divorce

Superstar couple are divorced just a month after announcing separation

Madonna & Guy Ritchie wed in 2000

It's official! (Almost.)

Just one month after announcing their split, Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary "quickie divorce" Friday in the High Court of London.

According to a document released by the court, 50-year-old Madonna – the petitioner – said in a sworn statement that she is divorcing Ritchie for his "unreasonable behavior."

In a court proceeding that took all of one minute, the judge issued a decree nisi – the first step in the U.K.'s two-stage divorce process – to "Ciccone ML" and "Ritchie GS" and 16 other (non-celebrity) couples.

Neither Madonna or her director ex attended the hearing. In fact, even their attorneys skipped the courtroom.

It's known as "quickie divorce" because if there are no disputes in the next six weeks and one day, the couple's split will become decree absolute.

Guy Speaks Out
Ritchie, 40, who has been working in London on the set of his new movie Sherlock Holmes, seemed relieved by the speedy resolution.

He reportedly told the Daily Mirror late on Thursday, "It was never about money – never about her bloody art collection. I just wanted to settle it and move on."

He added to the paper, "I didn't raise any objections at any stage until she insisted the children lived permanently in New York." (According to British press reports, the settlement calls for sons Rocco, 8, and David, 3, to split time between the U.S. and London. Madonna's 12-year-old daughter Lourdes – whose father is the New York-based Carlos Leon – will live with her mother.)

Madonna's representative in the U.K. declined to comment.