Madonna to pay up? Guy Ritchie’s divorce settlement may top £70million

Madonna may end up paying her way out of her marriage to Guy Ritchie.

While sources close to Guy claim he wants “not one penny” of Madonna’s money and the case will be settled in private without going to trial, other sources claim he wants a sizeable settlement from the split and it could get dirty.

A Team Madonna source is quoted in the New York Daily News as saying: “Guy wants to make himself out to be a gentleman who’s above money.

“If only that was the case. The truth is he’s looking for a nice piece of the pie.”

Madonna earned a considerable amount of her wealth before the couple’s marriage in 2000 but lawyers acting for Guy could claim that wealth was built upon during their marriage and that his own earnings were impacted as he reduced work commitments in order to focus on their children and supporting his wife. Madonna’s albums and tours since 2000 are said to have earned around £80million and the couple’s properties - in London, Wiltshire, New York and Los Angeles - are said to be worth in excess of £35million, meaning that Guy could be entitled to a settlement worth around £70million: half of her earnings plus property or money to buy equivalent properties in each city to the sake of their children.

The couple are not thought to have signed a prenuptial agreement, with the source explaining: “I can’t imagine Madonna wasn’t advised to get one. But she didn’t heed that advice. Like a lot of people, she assumed they were going to be married forever.

“I can’t imagine either of them want the sort of public court drama that Paul McCartney and Heather Mills went through.

“[But] they’re both large presences. They both have strong wills. The reason you marry someone sometimes becomes the reason you hate them.”

Madonna is said to have appointed Fiona Shackleton as her lawyer for the proceedings. Shackleton previously represented Paul McCartney, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew in their high-profile, high-settlement cases.