Reports: Madonna Reaches Divorce Settlement

By Lesley Messer

Originally posted Thursday November 20, 2008 12:30 PM EST

Guy Ritchie and Madonna Photo by: Jason Kempin / WireImage

Now it's really over.

The BBC reports that according to court lists, Madonna and Guy Ritchie will be granted a preliminary divorce decree at the High Court in London on Friday. After six weeks and a day, the divorce would be made final.

The former couple announced they were divorcing in October after almost eight years of marriage.

According to the British press, Madonna, 50, and Ritchie, 40, reached a settlement over money and their kids Lourdes, 12, Rocco, 8, and David, 3. London's Evening Standard reports that Madonna will keep the bulk of her estimated $500 million fortune intact, though Ritchie was entitled by law to a share of it.

Additionally, Rocco and David will split time between the U.S. and London, while Lourdes, whose father is Carlos Leon, will live with her mother.

"[Madonna] walked away without any of his money, much to her credit," a friend told the U.K.'s Times. "He has done the same."

"He could have hugely boosted his bank balance and set himself up for life, but he already feels he has enough money," another pal told the paper. "He also didn't want the whole thing dragging on in the public gaze for months and months and, in any case, his priority was the children's future."

But a source close to the couple insists that's not true. "He's going to get a huge windfall, contrary to what's being reported," the source tells PEOPLE. "He's getting a lot of money from the settlement. He's not the gentleman he's portraying himself as."

Madonna and Ritchie were married in 2000, shortly after the birth of their son, Rocco. Since splitting last month, Madonna has been linked with baseball star Alex Rodriguez.

• With reporting by K.C. Baker