Madonna: Material Mom Turns Cold Cougar

Oct. 16, 2008— -- From the start, the odds were against them.

She was an American pop diva and worldwide celebrity worth millions. He was a British director of snarky gangster films with a love for the English countryside. Ten years his senior, she had changed men more often than many women change handbags.

When Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced on Wednesday that they were splitting up, few were surprised.

"Madonna and Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce after seven-and-a-half years of marriage," her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said in a statement released yesterday. "They have both requested that the media maintain respect for their family at this difficult time."

Hours after confirming her divorce, Madonna was back on stage in Boston for the latest installment of her "Sticky & Sweet" tour. She seemed to take a swipe at her soon-to-be ex when she dedicated a song to the "emotionally retarded":

"This song is for the emotionally retarded. You might know a few people who fall into that category -- God knows I do," she said. Video from the show quickly became an Internet sensation.

"We saw it coming," Ian Drew, editor at large at Us Weekly, told ABCNews.com. "There have been reports of strife for such a long time and where there's smoke, there's fire."

Since the beginning of the year, speculation has grown that their marriage was on the rocks. Increasingly separate public appearances by the couple forced their rep to issue a statement in March saying, "Just because Madonna and Guy haven't been expressing themselves in public lately doesn't mean their seven-year marriage is on the rocks. I am delighted to confirm that Mr. and Mrs. Guy Ritchie remain happily married.

In July came the bombshell headlines linking Madonna to Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. Their "affair of the heart" put the nail in the coffin of A-Rod's marriage to Cynthia Rodriguez, according to her lawyer.

Madonna denied any romantic involvement with Rodriguez. She told People magazine on July 6: "My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce. I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. 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."

But, since news broke of her divorce, a source told US Weekly that the singer and the slugger "are definitely romantic. A-Rod and Madonna are more involved than ever."