Monday, 30 June 2008

Madonna prays in New York, Guy Ritchie prays in London

The recently split couple seek Kabbalah but separately

Madonna's spokesperson says she hardly ever wears her wedding ring

With no wedding ring on her finger and no husband in sight, Madonna and her three children – and Carlos Leon, 11-year-old daughter Lourdes's biological dad – visited Manhattan's Kabbalah Centre Friday night for Sabbath services and returned again on Saturday.

So where was Guy Ritchie, rumored to be splitting with Madonna? Although the British Sun tabloid had an unnamed source saying he was going to fly to New York in an effort to save his marriage, Ritchie was seen Saturday in London, also attending a Kabbalah meeting.

He was then seen meeting up with Trudie Styler (Sting's wife) back at his London home, and they drove off together.

Last week, the London Times reported that Madonna had consulted noted divorce British attorney Fiona Shackleton, who had represented Paul McCartney and Prince Charles in their bitter divorces from, respectively, Heather Mills and Princess Diana.

Madonna's spokesperson, Liz Rosenberg, said, "Madonna has rarely worn a wedding band over these last six years, so there's no secret message about that."

On Friday night, Madonna's group came in three waves, with Leon and Lourdes arriving first, quickly followed by an SUV carrying her son (with Ritchie) Rocco, 7, and adopted son David, 2, each child with a nanny.

Fifteen minutes later, around 8:45, Madonna arrived, wearing a black skirt and a black tank top over a white T-shirt. The service had just about ended, with a dinner about to begin. Madonna stayed some 20 minutes before leaving with Rocco and David for her home on Central Park West, according to a source.

On Saturday, Madonna and her three children returned to the center for services. Her presence didn't create any kind of stir, as congregants gave her hardly any notice.

With Lourdes at her side, Madonna sat in a front-row seat, wearing a black baseball cap and tight black T-shirt. David, in a white baseball cap and Rocco sporting a Yankees cap, spent much of the time playing quietly with some other children on the floor of the sanctuary.

A bar mitzvah took place, and at its conclusion Rocco joined all the congregants in throwing Sunkist fruit gem candies at the bar mitzvah boy.

At the service's conclusion, Lourdes wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and gave her a big, long hug.

In Manhattan to rehearse for her upcoming world Sticky & Sweet tour, which kicks off Aug. 23 in Wales, Madonna has stuck to a rigid schedule.

First, according to a source, she works out at home. Then, at 2:15 each afternoon, Madonna leaves for a studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where she and members of the tour practice numbers.

Meanwhile, the children and several nannies, often also accompanied by Leon, spend time playing outside or in Central Park, the source says.