By DAVID K. LI
Last updated: 5:07 am
July 6, 2008
Posted: 3:44 am
July 6, 2008
Madonna's troubled marriage to moviemaker Guy Ritchie is hanging on by a thread - thanks only to the intervention of a rabbi, the Material Mom's brother reveals in an explosive tell-all biography of the pop superstar.
The rabbi - identified in a published report as Yehuda Berg - is a trusted friend of the couple, who have been married 7½ years and have a son, Rocco, 7, together.
The pop queen has been calling Berg, the founder of the Los Angeles Kaballah Center, two to three times a day, and she and Ritchie have spent time with the cleric since Christmas, according to Britain's Sunday Express.
"He still believes they love one another," one of Berg's followers told the Express. "He believes they can work through their problems, and feels that any resentments they are holding can be overcome in time."
Madge's brother, Chris Ciccone, 47, penned "a warts-and-all account," an unidentified source told another British paper, The Sun. "Chris was there for all the key moments in Madonna's life."
The book claims, among other things, that Madonna once planted a steamy kiss on a stunned Gwyneth Paltrow's lips at a booze-fueled New Year's Eve bash thrown by Donatella Versace.
Ciccone, 47, an interior designer, says he'll blow the lid off his sister's dalliances with drugs, lesbian flings and marital blowups.
The Paltrow liplock occurred at about 4 a.m., he writes in "Life With My Sister Madonna," when the "Like a Virgin" singer pulled the actress up to dance on a table and planted a smooch that startled partygoers.
Of course, Madonna is no stranger to girl-girl kisses, having steamed up the 2003 MTV Movie Awards show with pop tarts Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
She's also made news of late with her alleged extra-innings play with Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez, who has been spotted leaving her Upper West Side apartment.
Ciccone's book claims a major issue in Madonna's marriage is her desire to live in New York City while Ritchie prefers London, which he feels is better for their kids.
