A gaunt-looking Madonna was seen leaving the Kabbalah Centre in New York on Saturday.
Wearing shades and a baseball cap it seemed the marriage break-up was taking its toll on the 50-year-old mega-star.
But the pop queen's obsession with maintaining a perfect body has been cited as one of the factors behind her split with Guy Ritchie.
Her insistence on sticking to a gruelling four-hour exercise routine has been blamed for destroying the pair's seven-and-a-half year marriage.
The strict regime reportedly meant the couple went for 18 months without making love.
When they did find time to make love, it was like 'cuddling up to a piece of gristle', Ritchie is said to have told friends.
Madonna
A close friend told the News of the World: 'When the cracks began to show in their marriage, Madonna wouldn't budge.
'Guy was pleading with her to spend more time with him but she wouldn't have it. She'd insist she did her four-hour workout and that would be half the day gone.'
'They've been apart so much in the last two years the times when they could have made love have been pretty limited.
'And they've been in separate bedrooms a lot after rows so there has been no making-up. They might as well be brother and sister.'
'All the soft feminine tones have been replaced by the build of an athlete.'
Another fighting point in their marriage was Madonna's devotion to the mystic religion Kabbalah.
Ritchie, 40, is said to have walked out of a marriage counselling meeting with rabbis after they suggested he should always be subordinate to his wife's wishes.
The source said: 'Guy thinks it is just mumbo jumbo. He was appalled she wanted the religion to intervene.'
He is said to have become disillusioned with the religion which he had originally embraced to please Madonna.
Film producer Ritchie is said to be resigned to the fact that Madonna will begin openly dating New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.
Sources say the pop star is preparing to go public about her friendship with baseball player A-Rod when her world tour ends in December.
Kabbalah leaders are said to have given their blessing to the friendship after Rodriguez threw himself into the religion.
Madonna also recently sneaked the multi-millionaire into a front row seat at her gig which had previously been reserved for her husband.
An insider told the Sunday Mirror: 'Alex is bewitched by her. She is a very intoxicating woman and it seems she has offered him a pathway to happiness and enlightenment through Kabbalah.
'He thinks she is phenomenal, but his friends aren't sure they have much in common.'
Rodriguez's wife Cynthia filed for divorce in July this year, citing Madonna as one of his many infidelities.
She is said to have found a letter to Madonna in which Rodriguez' called her his 'soulmate'.
Madonna, worth around £300million, has agreed Ritchie will have full access to their sons, eight-year-old Rocco and adopted David Banda, three.
The singer also has a daughter Lourdes, 12, by fitness trainer Carlos Leon.
Ritchie's £10 million divorce settlement will see him own Ashcombe House, their 1,200 acre £10million estate in Wiltshire, while Madonna will keep the couple's £7million townhouse in Marylebone in central London.
Making love to Madonna 'was like cuddling a piece of gristle'
Madonna's A-Rod dinner
Madonna and Alex Rodriguez were spotted enjoying dinner together earlier this week.
The singer and the baseball player - who were rumoured to be having an affair earlier this year - sat in "an alcove-like table" at the back of New York eatery Dos Caminos Third Avenue on Tuesday (30.09.08).
A source told Usmagazine.com: "They seemed very close."
While Madonna was initially blamed for Alex's divorce from wife Cynthia, the 50-year-old star has always denied the claims - insisting she is happy in her seven-year marriage with husband Guy Ritchie.
She said in a statement earlier this year: "My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce. I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage.
"I have learned over the years not to take accusations and the many false reports about me very seriously. I also appreciate how fiction and fact seem to be perceived as one and the same by people who read both newspapers and the internet."
Strike a pose: Madonna puts on a jaw-dropping show as A-list friends cheer her on at Wembley
Madonna stayed for just an hour at husband Guy's 40th birthday yesterday night and here's why - she needed all her energy for tonight's incredible performance at Wembley Stadium.
The 50-year-old queen of pop showed off her honed and muscular body as she cavorted around the stage in a white silk top hat, high cut leotard, fishnets and leather stiletto boots.
Her energetic routine would have put to shame artists half her age, and proved those hours in her private gym have paid off.
The mother-of-three is touring the world with her Sticky and Sweet tour which is flying to 37 venues for the roadshow in just under four months, transporting a team of 250.
Amongst the thousands of fans were her A-list friends Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson, whose mouths dropped open in amazement at Madonna's athletic exploits.
The audience also included Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Fergie from the Black Eyed peas.
The decadent two-hour show, which involved £1million of jewellery, saw Madonna perform many of her greatest hits, as well as indulging in eight costume changes.
The pop superstar arrived onstage dressed in a Givenchy outfit in a vintage white American car for the first section of the four-part show.
Labelled 'Pimp', the opening sequence was recently described by the Material Girl's publicist as a homage to '1920s deco and modern day gangsta pimp'.
Madonna followed up that segment of the concert with Old School, a tribute to the her roots in the urban dance music of early 1980s New York.
The remaining two sections, Gypsy and Rave, continued the high-energy performance.
Bust-up With Pharrell Made Madonna Cry.
Madonna wept with rage after an angry studio bust-up with producer Pharrell Williams.
The pair clashed while collaborating on Madonna's new album Hard Candy - and the Material Girl was shocked Williams was brave enough to stand up to her.
She reveals, "Pharrell made me cry. You know when you get angry with someone and you're spitting snot.
"I was in a sensitive mood in the studio and I didn't understand the rhythm he wanted me to sing in, and he was giving me a hard time.
"I was taken back by how he was talking to me".
Rather than walk away, the pair decided to clear the air, and patch things up - and they are now firm friends.
She adds, "We went upstairs and I said, 'You can't talk to me like that,' and burst into tears. And he said, 'Oh my God, Madonna has a heart.' "We had it out and now I love him and we make great music together".
Madonna: Britney 'robbed' of youth
The leotard-prancing mother-of-three says Spears' public meltdown is because she was 'judged' at a young age.
'I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that she was never allowed to have a childhood.
"She didn't get to grow up and make mistakes privately and try things out and just be a kid and be innocent', she said.
'She's been watched, judged and been under a microscope since she's been a teenager. It's hard to evolve that way.'
Madge, 49, makes her comments despite sharing one of the most controversial moments of Britney's career – that lesbian three way snog with Christina Aguilera at an MTV Award ceremony in 2003.
Though, it was all Britney's doing, according to Madonna, who says Brit was 'more eager' than Christina.
Meanwhile the Queen of Pop has spoken candidly about her own career and life as working mum, while promoting new album 'Hard Candy'.
She says her daughter Lourdes, 11, Rocco, seven and adopted two-year-old, David Banda, pine for a 'normal mom'.
"'When are you coming home?' 'Why are you always working?' 'Why can't you just be like a normal mom?' they plead."
"I just remind them about all the things that they have, and that if I didn't do what I did they wouldn't have those things.'
'They get to travel a lot, they get to do a lot of interesting things and meet a lot of interesting people. Usually that shuts them up.'
She also revealed the costumes that have transformed her image over the decades are all stored in a 'private chamber', including her famous 'Like A Virgin' wedding dress. Read more!
Madonna’s clothes embarrass daughter
Madonna's daughter is embarrassed by her mother's dress sense. The Material Girl singer - who turns 50 later this year - is happy to slob around at home in a comfortable tracksuit, much to 11-year-old Lourdes' horror. Madonna - who is married to director Guy Ritchie - said, "I'm happy to muck around in a pair of a drawstring pants and wellies but my daughter gets angry because I go to school wearing my tracksuit. She says, 'Can't you just wear normal clothes?' "I think she wants me to be a yummy mummy but that's not me. Guy will sometimes laugh at what I wear, too." Madonna recently admitted she was a "geek" when she began her career. The 4 Minutes singer - who was known for her raunchy image when she hit the music scene in the early 80s - insists people had the wrong idea about her and she was well-behaved. She said, "I really was not getting up to much. I don't think I was as naughty as I could have been. I was quite straight. I was a geek when I was that age. I did not really do much that was interesting."
Madonna touched up by the airbrush for her video striptease
As Madonna approaches 50, it appears reinvention now requires a little digital trickery.
The pop star has debuted her latest raunchy incarnation in a clip for her new single 4 Minutes, but it seems she has turned to soft focus, gentle lighting and perhaps a little airbrushing to get her look just right.
In the sci-fi inspired video, Madonna strips down to a skimpy corset in front of Justin Timberlake, who is almost half her age at 26.
Her flesh-coloured outfit is not unlike the infamous Jean Paul Gautier basque she wore in Express Yourself in 1989 and if the clip is to be believed, she has barely aged a day in the two decades in between.
Madonna also trade moves - and a kiss - with Timberlake in front of a giant clock performing a four-minute countdown.
The two dance around on car bonnets, along a grocery moving checkout counter, in a bedroom.
The video was filmed in London two months ago and was directed by French wunderkinds Jonas and François.
Of the new clip, Madonna said only: "Goody goody gum drops."
The pulsating track, which was originally titled Four Minutes to Save the World, is the first single is off Madonna's latest album, Hard Candy, which will be released on April 29.
Madonna shoots sexy photo for her new album cover
The Material Girl is at it again ... posing in nothing but a wrestling belt and black leotard just days after the release of a similar sultry cover photo for a U.S. magazine.
The queen of pop is this time posing for the cover of her new album, Hard Candy promising "it kicks ass".
Days earlier, the mother-of-two was shown posing in a similar sultry pose for the cover of U.S. magazing Interview, wearing a tight black leotard with a champion belt, and boxing boots.
For the album cover, Madge adopts a similar look - this time with a pink background, and freshly cropped hair.
Due for release on April 29, Hard Candy features production by Pharrell Williams, Timbaland and Nate "Danja" Hills as well as an appearance by Justin Timberlake
A spokeswoman for Madonna said the cover "represented a juxtaposition of tough and sweetness".
Madonna poses for the cover of U.S. magazine Interview
Madonna Named Richest Woman in Music
Madonna is not only the queen of pop, she is also the queen of cash after being named the highest earning woman in music by Forbes Magazine.Forty-nine-year-old Madonna has topped the first ever Forbes magazine Cash Queens of Music list after earning $72 million in one year, between June 2006 and June 2007.The majority of her earnings last year came from her 'Confessions' tour, which cashed in $260 million worldwide.Record sales and her deal with fashion retailer H&M also added to Madonna's fortune along with the payment she received from broadcasters NBC for rights to air her Wembley Stadium performance.The second highest earner on the list was also the oldest - Barbra Streisand.
The 65-year-old raked in $60 million last year - likely to have been fuelled by her comeback tour, which was her first since announcing her retirement in 2000.Coming in third was Canadian singer Celine Dion who earned $45 million, thanks to her massively successful A New Day concert series at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.The long-running show, which opened in 2003 was seen by an estimated three million fans before closing in December 2007.Colombian singer Shakira, who enjoyed massive success with her album 'Oral Fixation Volume 2' and single Hips Don't Lie last year, was fourth on the list earning $38 million.
She was followed by R&B diva Beyonce who earned $27 million.Troubled pop star Britney Spears was a surprise entry coming in at number 14 on the list after barely touring and being seen lip-synching at gigs last spring.
Spears still managed to earn $8 million from her old hits and sales of her perfume, Curious, which netted $55.4 million in 2006.In compiling the list, Forbes examined concert grosses, merchandising revenue, album sales and additional revenue from other businesses, including fragrance deals and endorsements.Only "active" artists were considered - those who had released an album or film or toured during the specified period, Forbes said.
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