Madonna/Ritchie divorce nearly done

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. pop star Madonna and her British filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie have reached a settlement in their divorce, The Times of London said Thursday.

The couple married in 2000 and have two sons together -- Rocco, 8, and David, 3. They announced last month their plans to divorce. Madonna also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from a previous relationship.

Madonna and Ritchie's decree nisi reportedly is to be announced Friday in London's High Court.

The Times said the deal the former couple reached allows Madonna to retain most of her estimated $440 million wealth. In exchange, her sons with Ritchie will split their time between family homes in the United States and England. Lourdes will continue to live with her mother in the United States.

"It will all be over by the end of the month. Ritchie has done exactly what Billie Piper did when she divorced Chris Evans. She walked away without any of his money, much to her credit. He has done the same," a friend of the former couple's told the newspaper.

"He could have hugely boosted his bank balance and set himself up for life but he already feels he has enough money," another source told The Times. "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."