Madonna reveals suicidal thoughts during custody dispute with Ritchie

Madonna said she contemplated suicide during a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie in 2015 and 2016, and described the period as one of the most painful of her life. In a wide-ranging interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast released this week, the 67-year-old singer recounted lying on the floor of her dressing room, sobbing between performances as she fought to retain custody of her son, Rocco.

“There were moments in my life I wanted to cut my arms off. I actually contemplated suicide,” she told the podcast. Madonna said the custody fight, which began when her teenage son left her Rebel Heart tour to stay with his father in London, left her feeling as if she could not go on. “Someone trying to take my child away from me was like, they might as well just kill me. That’s really how I was thinking,” she said. She added that she had to continue performing nightly while the legal dispute unfolded.

The legal battle between Madonna and Ritchie, who were married from 2000 to 2008, drew public attention in late 2015 when Rocco remained in the United Kingdom rather than returning to his mother’s tour. After months of court hearings, the parties reached a settlement...