Madonna, Guy Ritchie to divorce

There was a reason Guy Ritchie was missing from the premiere of Madonna's movie -- the pair are divorcing after nearly eight years of marriage and two children. The British tabloids are already speculating that the split may be the most costly ever for a female star, with Madonna worth more than $500 million and her director husband worth about $34 million. Madonna has reportedly hired Fiona Shackleton, who represented Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills.

"It is sad," longtime Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg told E! News. This is the same Liz Rosenberg who insisted just months ago that the Madonna-Ritchie marriage "did not need saving" although in her divorce filing, Yankees star Alex Rodriguez's wife, Cynthia, claimed that Madonna had broken up their marriage.

TMZ.com, with a headline "We Told You So," is linking readers back to a July story that said the couple were living apart but planned to delay the announcement of their divorce until Madonna's "Sticky and Sweet" tour was under way. Which is ... right about now!

-- Anne Neville