Guy Ritchie's Offer To 'Drop Everything' For Madonna Shows The Bonds Of Parenting Never Really Die
Ritchie has reportedly offered to do whatever he can to help her back to health, despite their acrimonious split.
s_bukley, Tinseltown / Shutterstock; @madonna / Instagram; Canva Pro In the annals of celebrity divorces, Madonna and Guy Ritchie's 2008 split is among the most acrimonious — and neither have exactly shied away from airing their grievances with each other over the years.
But amid Madonna's recent serious health struggles, it seems as though an olive branch may have been extended. Their love may have become vitriolic, but they'll always be devoted parents together, and it seems like that has superseded all the bad feelings.
Guy Ritchie's offer to 'drop everything' for Madonna shows just how deep parental bonds can go.
Madonna has built a career on shocking the world, but recently the shock came from a different kind of news. With just weeks to go before her 40th anniversary Celebration Tour was slated to launch, it was announced that she had been found unconscious in her New York City apartment and admitted to an intensive care unit, where she had to be intubated while fighting a serious bacterial infection.
The delay in announcing her condition, with her manager Guy Oseary sharing first word of the harrowing situation nearly a week after she went to the hospital, suggests just how serious her struggle was, and has corroborated in the minds of fans numerous tabloid reports that her family truly thought they were going to lose her.
There has been, of course, an outpouring of well wishes toward Madonna in the days since the announcement of her hospitalization on June 28, 2023, from fans and Madonna's celebrity friends alike. But the most unexpectedly heartfelt sentiments have come from her ex, Ritchie.
Guy Ritchie is reportedly 'not taking no for an answer' when it comes to his offer to drop everything for Madonna and help her in any way he can.
Madonna is more than just the Queen of Pop, she's also mother to six children: 10-year-old twins Estere and Stella, 17-year-olds David and Mercy, 22-year-old painter Rocco Ritchie, and 26-year-old model and musician Lourdes Leon.
All six have been right by their mother's side as she recovers, but sources speaking to British celebrity magazine Closer say Ritchie was nearly as rattled by Madonna's health scare as her children were, and he's pledged to join with their son together, Rocco, to help her in any way he can.
"Guy reached out immediately and said he wanted to help however he possibly could," the source reported. "He’s offered to drop everything and fly out to New York if she needs him," which Madonna is said to have "really appreciated."
Ritchie is said to be dedicated to Madonna getting better because 'she’s still the mother of his first-born child' despite their vitriolic divorce.
Ritchie and Madonna's recent olive branch is a stunning reversal from the way things ended. Their 2008 divorce is one of the most expensive in history, with Ritchie pocketing between $75 and $92 million of Madonna's money.
Madonna has always been outspoken, with only rare exceptions, and neither she nor Ritchie have hidden their distaste for the other.
Madonna's 2012 album "MDNA" is full of songs about their divorce, including one that is an elaborate revenge fantasy, while Ritchie has called their marriage "a soap opera" and that making love to Madonna was like "cuddling a piece of gristle." Then, just as the drama died down, a bitter custody battle over Rocco ensued in 2016.
That is clearly all behind them now, and what remains seems to be their dedication to the children they shared together, including 17-year-old David, whom they adopted together in Malawi. Even Ritchie's current wife, actress Jacqui Ainsley — the pair married in 2015 and share three children together: Rafael, Rivka and Levi — has reportedly offered to help be part of Madonna's inner circle while she recovers.
In the statement Madonna posted to Instagram after returning home, she said her "first thought when I woke up in the hospital was my children." And it seems as though despite their prior drama, Ritchie feels exactly the same.
Closer's source said Ritchie feels that, "for all of their differences she’s still the mother of his first-born child... and he truly respects her."
As Madonna put it in one of her songs about Ritchie, "it wasn't always perfect but it wasn't always bad," and Ritchie's dedication to Madonna despite their history just goes to show that the bonds of parenting and family can supersede even the most "soap opera" of entanglements.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.