This is one celebrity affair scandal that dipped into both the music and sports worlds. In 2008, Alex Rodriguez and Madonna were rumored to have had an affair, and it was reportedly the cause of the Major League Baseball player's divorce from his wife, Cynthia Scurtis. The affair rumor and the end of the marriage saw both supposedly involved parties speaking out in the press, gossip about Scurtis having her own affair with a famous musician, and baseball fans taunting Rodriguez with pictures of Madonna at games.
On top of that, years later, another well-known partner of Rodriguez's seemingly confirmed that he and Madonna had a fling despite their past denials. Read on to find out more about this tangled situation.
READ THIS NEXT: Kristen Stewart Said She "Lit Her Universe on Fire" When She Cheated on Robert Pattinson.
Madonna and Rodriguez were linked in the press in 2008.
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesIn July 2008, Madonna and Rodriguez affair rumors began surfacing and, not long after, it was reported that Scurtis was leaving Rodriguez. The couple had been married since 2002 and have two daughters together, one of whom was only born four months earlier, in April 2008.
A source told People that Scurtis becoming aware of the supposed infidelity was the reason she left. "The embarrassment over Madonna was the last straw," the source said. "She flew to Paris to get out of town before everything blew up between them."
A source said to be close to the family said, "Cynthia is a strong person. But a wife with two young children can only take so much."
Meanwhile, Scurtis was rumored to be having her own affair.
Steven A. Henry/Getty ImagesAt the time that the Madonna reports surfaced, there was also gossip that Scurtis was having an affair with rocker Lenny Kravitz.
"There is no affair with Lenny Kravitz. They are good friends," a source told People. Kravitz also denied the rumor himself.
"There is absolutely no affair between Cynthia Rodriguez and myself. This is unequivocally 100 percent not true," Kravitz told perezhilton.com (via People). "Cynthia is a friend and is here with the godfather of her baby, who is also Alex’s trainer, his wife and their baby girl. She came here to escape from everything happening in New York City. I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extremely hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer."
Madonna denied the relationship.
Featureflash Photo Agency / ShutterstockMadonna, who was also married at the time, denied cheating with Rodriguez first through her representative and then through a first-person statement. She had tied the knot with Guy Ritchie in 2000.
“My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce," the "Like a Prayer" singer told People. "I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage or what spiritual path he may choose to study."
Madonna mentioned Rodriguez's "spiritual path," because it had also been reported that Rodriguez's newfound interest in Kabbalah—a type of Jewish mysticism that Madonna was known to practice—also played a role in his marriage ending.
For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Scurtis filed for divorce.
Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic via Getty ImagesScurtis filed for divorce in Miami, Florida and cited extramarital affairs as the reason, though no names were listed in the court documents. One of Scurtis' lawyers said that Rodriguez had "an affair of the heart" rather than a sexual affair with Madonna.
"Alex has emotionally abandoned his wife and children and has left her with no choice but to divorce him," court documents read, according to The New York Times. Their divorce was finalized in September of the same year.
Around the same time, Madonna and Ritchie split, too. They announced their divorce in October 2008, and it was finalized in November. According to The Guardian, Madonna filed and cited unreasonable behavior from Ritchie, with whom she shares two children.
Rodriguez continued to claim they were just friends.
Tinseltown / ShutterstockIn December 2008, Rodriguez commented on the reports about him and Madonna. Around this time, the two stars were in Mexico City at the same time—she was performing and he was appearing at a baseball event for children. It was unclear if the overlap was planned.
"We're friends—that's it," the Yankees player told People. Asked about them reportedly taking flights to be with one another, he said, "I can tell you this. I have never been on a plane with her."
He added, "I've been to two [of her] concerts, yet I've read that I went to 20. I've also read that we were buying an apartment together. That is absolutely ridiculous and not true."
Jennifer Lopez seemed to confirm their romance years later.
In 2020, Rodriguez was engaged to Jennifer Lopez. (They later split in 2021 after five years together.) During an appearance on Radio Andy, Lopez said that she dressed up as '80s-era Madonna for Halloween that year and seemingly confirmed that Rodriguez and Madonna did have some sort of personal relationship.
"I dressed as Madonna and Alex, he went as Bruce Springsteen," Lopez said. Asked if it was "odd" that she dressed as Madonna considering Rodriguez's past, Lopez laughed and said, "No, it was so long ago. It wasn't weird at all."
