A New York Supreme Court judge ordered Madonna’s son Rocco will stay in London with dad Guy Richie until the parents can reach a custody agreement.
The decision was made this week by the court in a bid to take the pressure off the 15-year-old as his parents war against each other in a bitter custody battle that has dragged out for months.
Recent reports have come out claiming the teenager prefers living a “stable life” with dad Guy Ritchie over his mother’s crazy jet-setting lifestyle.
According to TMZ, in December Rocco told Guy that he felt like Madge “treated him more like a trophy than a son,” which prompted him to leave her Rebel Heart tour and stay with his father in London.
“No one is disrupting this household. The child is in school; let us try to allow him to go forward in the most normal way,” said New York Supreme Court judge Deborah Kaplan. “We’re not forcing the child to leave school. His mother isn’t asking that.”
And while the tensions may be high a “normal” life for Rocco is one point all parties can agree on.
“In almost every conversation, he has stressed to me how stressful [the very public custody battle is],” Rocco’s court-appointed attorney said. “He is going to school now, which is a great step forward, and the parents should be commended that they were able to reach this decision … He’s enjoying himself there; he’s having a good educational experience; the school seems to be a great fit for him.”
On Wednesday Justice Kaplan vacated a previous order that would have seen Richie forced to get his son back to his mother’s care before Christmas 2015 but those instructions were not adhered to by the British film director.
Madonna’s lawyer, Eleanor Alter, suggested not returning Rocco when orders were in place was irresponsible parenting.
“He taught his son that obeying court orders … is not necessarily important. That is one of the most serious things that has happened in this court,” Alter argued.
But Richie’s lawyer maintained that returning the teen to his mother – who primarily sets up residence in New York – was not that simple.
“Rocco is of an age where he cannot be physically compelled to [get on a plane] back to New York,” Ritchie’s attorney argued.
Madonna posted this throwback of her with Rocco last year.
The case remains open and while it was almost concluded out of court Madonna and Guy’s lawyers told the judge that both parties could not agree on a custody agreement at the eleventh hour.
The judge encouraged the family to come to an agreement as soon as possible for Rocco’s wellbeing.
“In the seven years since the family has been assigned to me, this is the first issue we’ve had with their children,” the judge said.
In the time Rocco has been with his father his pop star mother has posted a slew of Instagram tributes hinting at her heartache over the custody drama including one throwback picture with the caption, ‘Tu me manque…………(sic)’, which translated to ‘I miss you’.
Rocco is Madonna and Guy’s eldest child together. The pair’s younger children, David, 10, and Mercy, 10 are in the primary custody of their mother and Madonna’s eldest child, daughter Lourdes Leon, 19, is currently studying at the University of Michigan.
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