According to John Ritchie, Guy Ritchie's father, Madonna and Guy Ritchie have hit a bumpy patch in their five-year marriage. But they are putting their problems behind and focusing on their children, he added. "It's the children that will keep them together. The children are everything to them," Mr Ritchie had told Closer magazine.

The speculation was further strengthened by their appearance at the Brit Awards in February where Madonna and Ritchie looked awkward and Madonna did not thank her husband when she accepted the award for Best International Female. Rumors are also rife that Madonna is very close to her musical director Stuart Price and has been spending a lot of time on her album and tours.

Madonna is rumored to have nearly split with Ritchie five years ago when they just got married. In a documentary last year, she had said: "I got married for all the wrong reasons. My husband did not turn out to be everything I'd imagined him to be. I just wanted to end everything."

Madonna has apparently approached Kabbalah rabbis in London to help save her marriage. They have asked her to hold on until after the festival of Passover, in April, before making any decisions. The festival celebrates the journey of the Jews from enslavement in Egypt to the chosen land. In Kabbalism, it is seen as a more spiritual journey of freedom. Madonna has been advised by the rabbis to free herself from her ego to save her marriage.

The couple are currently in Los Angeles with son Rocco, five, and daughter Lourdes, nine. Madonna denied the rumors last week saying Ritchie calls her every five minutes.