In pictures: Madonna and Guy Ritchie

Pop star Madonna and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, are to divorce, it has been confirmed. The couple were together for 10 years, and married in December 2000.

The couple were introduced by Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, who was an executive producer on Ritchie's debut film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Their first son, Rocco, was born on 11 August 2000. He was baptised in Dornoch Cathedral in the Highlands on the day before his parents tied the knot.

Madonna said her wedding at Skibo Castle was "magical". Guests included her four-year-old daughter, Lourdes, and Gwyneth Paltrow (left). Local residents were later given a taste of the cake (right).

The couple had a house built in Beverly Hills, but decided to move to the UK after their wedding. Madonna said their relationship had been "unstable" when they did not have a permanent base.

The couple's UK home is the six-bedroom Ashcombe House Estate in Wiltshire. They took court action to make sure ramblers did not have access to the grounds of the Grade II listed building.

Madonna plugged Ritchie's second film, Snatch, at the launch of her 2000 album, Music. One song, I Deserve It, featured the lyric "This guy was meant for me, and I was meant for him".

Ritchie directed Madonna in the 2002 comedy Swept Away. The film, which also starred Adriano Giannini, was a box office flop and picked up five Golden Raspberries.

Madonna and Ritchie took their children Rocco and Lourdes to the premiere of children's movie Arthur and the Invisibles in 2006.

The family grew in 2006 when Madonna and Ritchie adopted Malawian orphan David Banda (front). The pop star said the new arrival was "hysterically funny" but also had a "terrible temper".

A trip to Israel in 2007 resulted in a meeting with the president, Shimon Peres. The couple also attended a conference on Kabbalah, a branch of Jewish mysticism which both partners practise.

One of the couple's most recent public engagements was at the London premiere of Ritchie's latest gangster film Rocknrolla last month.