People Exclusive

Madonna: I'm Not Planning on Getting a Divorce

By K.C. Baker

07/06/2008 at 02:15 PM EDT

Madonna has released an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, denying that she is divorcing Guy Ritchie or having an affair with Yankee star Alex Rodriguez.

In it, she says: "My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce. 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.”

Alex Rodriguez’s wife Cynthia blamed the rumored affair for the demise of her marriage to the slugger, sources say.

Amid growing buzz of divorce, the singer’s rep had earlier issued a denial that the singer and her husband of over seven years, Guy Ritchie, were splitting.

The singer, who is no stranger to rumors, also says: “I have learned over the years not to take accusations and the many false reports about me very seriously. I also appreciate how fiction and fact seem to be perceived as one and the same by people who read both newspapers and the Internet."