The 'real reason' why Madonna and Guy's marriage was 'doomed'

Herald online

24 Oct, 2008 02:18 AM7 mins to read

Madonna and Guy Ritchie pictured during happier times. Photo / AP

KEY POINTS:

UPDATED: Madonna

's marriage to

Guy Ritchie

took a sharp nosedive after her hubby's "unsympathetic" reaction to her 2005 horse riding accident, insiders claim.

A snitch close to Madonna tells

The Sun

newspaper: "From the moment Madonna fell from that horse, their marriage was doomed. If you can pinpoint an exact event or incident which

spelled the death knell

for them as a couple, Madonna's

horse-riding accident

was it. Every other row the couple had following that boiled down to what happened that summer."

The singer, 50, spent several days in hospital after falling from a horse on her 47th birthday, breaking four ribs, her collar bone and scapula. She later described the incident as "the most painful experience of my life".

Stiff upper lip

Insiders now say that Madonna became embittered after her husband showed her "no sympathy" after her fall, and that he "abandoned her emotionally".

She reportedly told pals at the time: "He can't possibly be my soulmate." And questioned whether Ritchie actually loved her at all.

Another snitch said: "Madonna was in a huge amount of pain and expected Guy to drop everything to be at her bedside.

"In her mind that is what every husband should do to support his wife when she has been through a traumatic, possibly life-threatening, experience. But Guy approached the whole thing in what she now calls, ‘A very British way'.

Rather than sympathising with his wife, Ritchie said, "Come on darling, you're a tough bird. You'll be back on the horse in no time." That's when Madonna spat the dummy.

To her, that was the point of no return.

Deeper and deeper

Madge may have branded Ritchie "

emotionally retarded

" onstage last week, but that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface as far as her dislike of her husband goes.

There's been trouble in paradise for months apparently, with the pair constantly arguing and bickering over a gamut of emotional issues.

Team Madonna

The

MailOnline

says that lawyers for Madonna are now compiling a dossier of ‘incidents' for the upcoming divorce battle, most of which portray Ritchie in a less than favourable light.

Madge's lawyers reportedly claim Ritchie, 40, made the singer feel "

worthless

unattractive

unfeminine

insecure

and

isolated

during their eight-year marriage".

Then there's the allegation that her soon-to-be-ex once told her she "

looked like a granny

" on stage with her team of young dancers.

He's also alleged to have

rubbished her acting

, and said that she was "

past it

" now that she's 50.

A snitch tells the

MailOnline

: "It might seem incredible that Madonna should be suggesting

Guy was the dominant one

in this marriage and that she was somehow the belittled party. But the thing about divorce is that there are always two very different perceptions of what went on.

"He would

laugh sarcastically at her jokes

and take the mickey out of her in front of other people."

"Outwardly she's the material girl and bursting with confidence, but

turning 50 really hit her hard

. Madonna says Guy never said the right things to get her over that hurdle. She says he basically let her know that he thought she was over the hill. She said he had a subtle indifference towards her."

Team Ritchie

Meanwhile, Ritchie's peeps are preparing a counter-strike. Mr. Madonna is about to reveal details of how he supposedly 'suffered' for years under the control of his ‘tyrannical wife'.

A snitch says that 'control freak' Madonna:

wouldn't let her family watch television or read newspapers;

stuck to her strict four-hour daily exercise regime despite Guy's pleas they should spend more time together;

demanded her husband follow a strict macrobiotic diet, eat zero-fat smoothies for breakfast and steamed fish for dinner;

would not welcome any of Ritchie's ‘London' friends into her home;

was obsessed with holding on to her youth

Insiders claim Madge was so consumed with her looks, she refused to let sunlight touch her skin.

A source tells the

Daily Telegraph

, "She refuses to allow sunlight - even through windows - to touch her skin and

drapes herself in linen sheets and towels

in order to escape the sun's damaging rays.

"Some nights she'll completely cover herself with thick moisturising creams.

"She'll go through pots and pots worth £500 a pop. And then she climbs into these protective plastic body suits.

"She sleeps covered in all this gunk and plastic."

Sounds kinky. But not Guy's cup of tea. The cockney geez was "fed up to the back teeth with having such a regimented life. He simply couldn't take it anymore."

And the rest is history.

Blogger's brief

So how do we tell fact from fiction among the divorce conjecture and brouhaha? It's not easy. You'll just have to use your inner gossip compasses to filter truth from drivel.

But one thing I will say vis-à-vis the snitches that have been so readily available to offer their two cents' worth as far as the divorce goes - look closer, they might just be credible.

It's widely known in media circles for celebs to release snippets of info via 'close friends' to the press - to protect themselves more than anything. It's their way of giving out a credible story without putting their name to it.

The bottom line: This divorce isn't just about money, possessions or mud-slinging - it's also about who comes out on top once it's final. There's a PR war going on here, too. And both parties are clamouring to win. There are careers at stake.

Remember Tom and Nicole's divorce back in 2001? Cruise undoubtedly lost the PR war during that split - his career subsequently nosedived, whereas Kidman was embraced by the press and hailed a martyr. She won.

How they were...

Video:

Madonna's ode to Guy Ritchie,

I Deserve It

, from the

Music

album (2000):

UPDATE 2: Madonna and Guy Ritchie will divorce this weekend. Get all the latest news here

UPDATE 1: Although Madonna's representative, Liz Rosenberg, has denied reports that Madge 'n Guy have reached a divorce settlement, speculation is rife that they've agreed on who gets custody of the kids.

The

Mail on Sunday

claims Madge will have custody of Lourdes, 12, eight-year-old Rocco, and their three-year-old adopted son David.

The singer will take the kids with her to live in the US, but Ritchie will be granted "broad" access.

And now for something completely different...

Fast gossip

Big links. Size matters.

Matt Damon

will return as

Jason Bourne

Fire the stylist!

CFW