Madonna Says She Experienced Suicidal Feelings During Custody Battle Over Son Rocco

Madonna in Paris earlier this weekMadonna has shared that she contemplated taking her own life after becoming embroiled in a public custody battle over her then-teenage son.Almost a decade ago, the Grammy-winning musician found herself at the centre of a legal spat with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie, after their eldest son Rocco, who was 15 at the time, said he wanted to live with his dad in the UK rather than joining his mum at their family home in the States.The Like A Prayer singer was on a world tour during the early stages of this custody battle, at one point breaking down in tears as she talked about Rocco during a one-off stand-alone show in Australia.During a wide-ranging new interview on the podcast On Purpose With Jay Shetty, which mostly centred around spirituality, Madonna opened up about this low ebb in her personal life.“I actually contemplated suicide,” she recalled. “One of the most painful moments in my life where I honestly couldn’t see the forest through the trees was when I went through a custody battle with my son.“Even though my marriage didn’t work out – I mean, a lot of people’s marriages don’t work out, they marry the wrong people, they’re not aligned, they’re not meant for each other.“[But] 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.”Rocco Ritchie in January 2025Madonna went on to disclose that she would often find herself “lying on the floor of my dressing room sobbing” during this period.“I had to go on stage every night,” she said. “I really thought it was like it was the end of the world. I couldn’t take it. I just couldn’t take it.”The chart-topping star is a mum to six children in total: 28-year-old Lourdes, 25-year-old Rocco, 20-year-old David, 19-year-old Mercy and 13-year-old twins Estere and Stella.Rocco Ritchie and Madonna at New York Fashion Week in 2022Fortunately, Madonna and Rocco have now put their past differences aside, and are now “great friends”, she told Jay Shetty, and last month he joined his siblings for his famous mum’s birthday celebrations in Italy.Weeks earlier, she also made a public statement in solidarity with the children of Gaza on her eldest son’s birthday, which she described as the “best gift I can give to him as a mother”.Help and support:Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email [email protected] Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.READ MORE:Madonna Finally Opens Up About Her Troubled Relationship With Her Late BrotherMadonna Urges Pope Leo To Help The Children Of Gaza 'Before It's Too Late'Madonna Reveals She And Elton John Have 'Buried The Hatchet' After Decades-Long Feud

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