Madonna delighted with ring, hedges on marriage

Madonna alongside Guy Ritchie for the launch party for her latest album in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- U.S. pop star Madonna may be hedging her bets about marriage but she's delighted with the huge diamond ring -- her first ever -- she got from British film director boyfriend Guy Ritchie.

"I had absolutely no idea," Madonna told Us Weekly in an interview to be published on Friday. "I never liked big rocks on my finger -- well, I do now."

But asked whether a Christmas wedding, as predicted by British newspapers, was on the cards, Madonna replied: "I wouldn't say it's an engagement ring -- at least not right now. We talk about marriage but we can't decide whether it's something that's necessary."

Ritchie, 31, director of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" gave Madonna the ring the day she brought new baby Rocco home from hospital after he spent a week in intensive care. It was also Madonna's 42nd birthday.

"I thought he had bought me some really nice earrings or something. Then I opened it up. It was a diamond ring and I screamed. It was shocking. I've never had a diamond ring," she told Us Weekly.

Madonna, who divorced actor Sean Penn in 1989 after four years marriage, met Ritchie about two years ago at a lunch party given by British pop star Sting. She bought a house in London in June to spend more time with him.

"I felt like he's my equal, and that's hard to find," she said of Ritchie.

Rocco -- who Madonna said was named after one of her relatives -- was born a month premature on August 11 after an emergency caesarean although the baby's life was never in danger.

"It wasn't as dramatic as everyone portrays it. But because he was a month premature they put him in intensive care to make sure his lungs were developed enough," said the former Material Girl, who is breast feeding Rocco at her home near Los Angeles. Her first child Lourdes, fathered by her former personal trainer, turns four next month.

Madonna's latest album "Music" was released on Tuesday and she told Us Weekly she was considering a tour of small clubs in the autumn. "I haven't been on stage for a long time. I really do miss it," she said.

There isn't a lot else she misses however. "I feel better physically than I did 10 years ago. I'm doing more. I'm more fulfilled than 10 years ago. And I don't really have those moments when I think, 'Oh God, I'm missing something'," she said.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Madonna bids to win domain name game
September 13, 2000
Madonna 'to wed by Christmas'
August 30, 2000
Madonna gives birth to boy
August 11, 2000

US Weekly
Madonna

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.