Nov 21, 2008 6:06 am US/Eastern
Madonna & Guy Make 'No-Squeal' Deal
LONDON (AP) ―
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The couple announced last month they were divorcing after almost eight years of marriage.
AP
Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary decree of divorce Friday.
Neither appeared at the brief court session in which "Ciccone M L v Ritchie G S" was one of 17 cases given a preliminary decree. After six weeks and a day, the divorce can become final.
The decree said the divorce was granted on the basis of Ritchie's "unreasonable behavior," but did not elaborate.
British news media reported, without identifying the sources of their information, that the celebrity couple had reached a settlement that would see the pop superstar keep the majority of her estimated 300 million pound ($445 million) fortune.
Reports in the Evening Standard and the Times of London said the couple had also reached a deal regarding their two children: Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006.
The newspapers said the two boys will split their time between Britain and the United States, while Lourdes -- Madonna's 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon -- will live with her mother in America.
As far as division of assets, Guy reportedly keeps the couple's sprawling $20 million English estate, while Madonna gets the $14 million London pad.
Requests for comment from representatives for the couple were not returned.
Madonna and Ritchie, director of "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," married in December 2000 at Skibo Castle in the Scottish Highlands.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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