Madonna and her British husband Guy Ritchie ended their eight-year marriage in a "quickie" divorce in London Friday.
Madonna, 50, and Ritchie, 40, did not attend the hearing before the High Court's family division. It lasted just a few minutes and was heard along with the cases of 16 other couples who were also granted divorces Friday.

Since last month when the break-up of the couple was announced, the lawyers had worked feverishly to hammer out a divorce settlement and the custody for the couple's three children.

A sworn statement released by the court showed that it was Madonna who petitioned for the divorce on the grounds of Ritchie's "unreasonable behaviour," which was "continuing."

Senior District Judge Philip Waller said he was satisfied that the court did not need to exercise its powers under the Children Act, nor give any directions under the Matrimonial Causes Act.

There are speculations that Guy Ritchie will receive a certain amount a money from Madonna, but the legal experts said that the true deal is unlikely ever to be made public, thanks to strict confidentiality clauses.

According to the British legislation, the movie director Guy Ritchie would have been entitled to as much as half of his estranged wife's fortune.

The couple owns three multi-million luxury homes in London, as well as a pub and a country house estate in the south-western county of Wiltshire.

There is also a penthouse apartment in New York and a luxury mansion in Beverly Hills, plus a fleet of luxury cars.
Madonna married British director Guy Ritchie in 2000. His first full-length movie was the highly appreciated Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, followed by the wildly successful Snatch, in which he cast Hollywood favorites like Brad Pitt, Benicio del Toro and Dennis farina, but also the constantly angry Jason Statham and football player Vinnie Jones. Another acclaimed movie he directed and wrote was Revolver in 2005.

As a couple, Madonna and Guy Ritchie have a son, Rocco, born in 2000, and an adopted son, David. Madonna also has a daughter, Maria Lourdes, conceived with her personal trainer Carlos Leon, after her divorce from Sean Penn and before marrying Guy Ritchie. The couple was criticized and accused of breaking adoption laws, in what was deemed by the media as Madonna’s attempt to copy Angelina Jolie’s numerous adoptions of children from third world countries. Madonna was also actively involved in studying Kabbalah and has donated large amounts to the Kabbalah Centre.

Moreover, her die-hard fans – irrespective of age, have offered and shown full support to the star. Far from spiteful, Madonna did make a reference to her now ex-husband, dedicating the song “Miles Away” to the “emotionally retarded”, targeting Guy Ritchie.

The song also includes lines which are clearly related to rocky relationships, such as “When I’m gone you’ll realize/That I’m the best thing that happened to you”. The star openly admitted that this particular line was actually inspired by Guy Ritchie. Madonna said that a long-distance relationship is a continuous struggle that requires constant hard work. It seems that at least for now, the relationship struggle has stopped.