Has Madonna split from her British hubby Guy Ritchie?

Pop star MADONNA has purchased a New York apartment using her maiden name sparking further fears her marriage to GUY RITCHIE is in trouble. The Holiday hitmaker bought the flat directly above her existing home near Central Park for $ 7 million (£3.5 million) using her maiden name, Ciccone. But celebs do that all the time and change their names in different transactions mostly using their real names!

It is believed the 49-year-old will knock through the building to make a "super duplex" apartment. The couple's marriage came under intense scrutiny last month (10Mar08) when the director failed to show up at New York's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, where his wife was honoured. This was the latest of several events the couple had failed to attend together, prompting scurrilous reports they'd split.