A-Rod's wife Cynthia Rodriguez believes Madonna used kabbalah to brainwash her husband and convince him to leave her, according to a new report in New York's Daily News.
"I feel like Madonna is using mind control over him," Cynthia, 34, told a pal, according to the News. "I don't recognize the man he's become. He was a sweet, beautiful, loving husband and father.
"Today, he's very cold and calculating," she added.
(On Thursday night, Cynthia's father John Scurtis told Usmagazine.com that A-Rod had taken up the religion, "which isn't something we understand.")
Cynthia - who is "devastated" about splitting with her husband of five years - also "found a letter where Alex told Madonna: 'You are my true soul mate,'" a source close to the couple told the News.
(See photos of all of Madonna's past flings.)
Cynthia has been in Paris to "clear her head" with Lenny Kravitz - on A-Rod's suggestion - since last Tuesday according to published reports. Kravitz, 44, has denied a role in their marriage drama.
The couples split comes on the heels of news that A-Rod had been making late night visits to Madonna's Upper West Side apartment, including as early as the day after Cynthia gave birth to their second daughter, Ella - as first reported by Us Weekly.
"Alex literally left 10 minutes after the baby was born, and then was at Madonna's," a source told Us Thursday. "It's true. It's crazy."
Pals close to Cynthia told the News that A-Rod "claimed their marriage was over" just three weeks after Ella was born.
"That was news to her - she had no clue," the pal added. "She said, 'I stood beside him through all his struggles.'
"Cynthia was so innocent," says the friend. "She thought he just respected [Madonna]...and said, 'I respected her too - her creativity and ability to reinvent herself.
"I never dreamed this 49-year-old woman was anything more than a friend."
Cynthia has been "forced to defend herself and their children," the friend says. "It's a very emotional time for her."
(Look back at Madonna's biggest scandals.)
Check out the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now, for exclusive details about Madonna's surprising friendship with A-Rod, how
she fell in and out of love with Guy Ritchie, what divorce would mean for her $600 million estate and why a reconciliation isn't out of
the question.
