Madonna has a rebel son. Six weeks after a Manhattan Civil Supreme Court judge ordered Rocco to return home to New York, the 15-year-old is still bunking at dad Guy Ritchie’s London home. And in the new issue of Us Weekly, a source close to Ritchie, 47, says the teen plans to use his February 3 custody hearing in New York to explain when he wants to live in England long-term.
“It’s really horrible,” says a source close to the seven-time Grammy winner, 57. “She feels incredibly hurt.”
Also, very, very angry. An insider says Madonna blames her ex-husband for her son’s decision. The pair’s strained marriage turned into an acrimonious uncoupling in late 2008. (Without a prenup, Madonna was forced to hand over $75 million of her fortune.) Nearly a decade later, claims the Madonna insider, Ritchie’s contempt for her is still raw.
“Madonna thinks Guy is turning her son against her,” says the insider, who claims Ritchie often disses the singer in front of Rocco. “He’s telling Rocco he should stay with him. It seems like he’s trying to brainwash the kid.”
Madonna also believes he’s tempting him with a rules-free lifestyle. While the former wild child has said she’s a “disciplinarian” with Rocco and her other kids, Lourdes, 19, David, 10, and Mercy, 10, Ritchie isn’t a fan of structure.
“I am anti-school,” the Man From U.N.C.L.E. director told Details in 2011. “And I am anti people putting so much pressure on kids and robbing their childhood by giving them so much homework. I think if kids want to arse around, then they should.”
To that end, says a Madonna source, while Ritchie is homeschooling Rocco in London, he isn’t forcing him to study for his May high school qualification exams.
“Madonna wants him to do those exams,” says the source. “Madonna thinks Guy has pretty much told Rocco that if he wants out of education, he can quit now.”
Which is why Madonna believes Rocco prefers life with Dad. Says the insider, “You can’t blame him for wanting to live with someone who will let him run wild.”
For much more on Madonna and Ritchie’s ugly custody battle — and their dueling parenting styles — pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now!
