The divorce is final between Madonna and Guy Ritchie, and she can continue being a material girl.

Ritchie, who has his own wealth (estimated at more than $50 million), didn't want manimony and they both keep their assets.

The terms Madonna cited were "unreasonable behavior" by Ritchie — though the decree did not elaborate on what that could be. But what is reasonable is that they worked out an arrangement that didn't escalate into an ugly painful public battle a la Heather Mills and Paul McCartney. That divorce case has become a cautionary tale for any one.

Madonna and Ritchie worked out a custody arrangement where his sons Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006, can split their time between Britian and the United States.

But as we reported before, this is still a loss for the children since they will only get to see one parent periodically. When school is in session in the States, it's not as though Guy can just take them out for a quick Wednesday dinner or a weekend soccer game. There will be extended time away from his children. But like many fathers, he will deal with the cards he's dealt and play his best hand. Plus, the advantage of cellphones is that you can use them and soon the kids will be of age for email.

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Madonna is about to find out that she can’t flex her muscles when it comes to her soon-to-be ex-husband’s parenting style. The self-described control freak reportedly gave a list of rigid rules documenting what Guy Ritchie could and couldn’t do when he has sons Rocco, 8, and David, 3.

The list reportedly included a ban on TV, no Miley Cyrus for these boys, no non-organic food such as microwaved pizza and soda, nor any clothes that were not 100 percent cotton and sent by her. She even wanted her total blessings on what water they drank — Kaballah preferred — and no toys that are “spiritually or ethically unsound.”

What this sounds like is a recipe for disaster.

Divorced women tell me all the time that the hardest part of divorce is not leaving the husband but leaving the kids with him. And if you, like Madonna, are used to control, it becomes agony to realize the limited power you now have over your ex-spouse’s parenting style. It’s as though handcuffs have been put on you just when you thought you were finally liberated.

“Moms go nuts about this but all they can do is write to Dear Abby or Firstwivesworld,” says noted divorce lawyer Raoul Felder. “The courts will not mini-manage or arbitrate parenting styles unless it involves safety or basic acceptable serious judgment issues.”

Such as?

“Other than allergies like peanuts, religion and sky diving, the hand of the parent who turned the kids over for their weekend with Pop has about as much to say in what the kids do there as Bush does in the choice of the next Secretary of State,” Felder says. “But isn’t that what week-end Dads are all about? Lot’s of hot dogs, chocolate and crummy blood and gory movies.”

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This was something that former View host Debbie Matenopoulos didn’t want to see. On Internet sites, there were rumors that her husband was cheating. Now to her shock and dismay, her husband, the music executive Jay Faires, has surprised her by filing divorce papers in California.

"I am deeply saddened by the dissolution of my seven-year relationship with my husband, a man I truly believed I would be with forever," Matenopoulos said in a statement to E! News, where she now works. “Although my public persona may seem unconventional at times, I do not take marriage and family lightly, and I am quite traditional.”

Faires filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court citing the usual — irreconcilable differences. He also said that, since the couple does not have any children and she is gainfully employed, he should not have to provide any spousal support.

It appears, he wasn’t supporting the relationship for some time. The couple, who married in July of 2003, did separate in March of this year. But like many women, Matenopoulos thought they were going through a rough patch and that maybe a separation would give them time to appreciate what they had.

But perhaps she should have read How To Tell If Your Man Is Cheating. Although she may have known that less than 5 percent of couples who separate ever get back together, hope is something all of us have when it comes to reviving troubled relationships.

Before it is truly over, women try really hard and are willing to forgive many sins in an effort to keep their marriages afloat. However, the boat has now left the dock and Matenopoulos will sail on solo, seeking a safe harbor with someone who will appreciate her, which is just what she deserves.

Leave it to Moms to give researchers a spoonful of reality. A poll of online mothers conducted by Allen & Gerritsen on the economic challenges facing the US found that 80 percent thought Americans had been encouraged by the culture to overextend themselves and that 58 percent believed the average American is too greedy.

The researchers recognized that moms “teach and enforce family values” – and manage family pocketbooks – and believe that these findings may predict more saving and less spending. That seems confirmed by figures for retail sales for October, released this morning, which showed a 2.8 percent decline from the previous month. That’s the biggest drop the Commerce Department has recorded since measures began in 1993.

Maybe that isn’t so good for Coach and Gucci but it certainly will be for the culture at large. And this way Mom won’t have to ask Junior to support her down the road.

A&G surveyed moms to get a pulse on how the economy will affect their purchasing behavior. The report didn't make distinctions between divorced or married moms but I would bet the single moms have already been on a fiscal diet for some time and are quite good at it.

According to the report, 65 percent of the mothers said they were eliminating purchases that are not absolutely necessary, and 52 percent were cutting back in general. Some 71 percent say they have made more sacrifices this year than last. Only 49 percent say that the economic situation may improve within the next year, but perhaps President Obama can alter that view.

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Have you ever wondered how difficult it must be for Jennifer Aniston to see Angelina Jolie portrayed as a model mother on magazine covers? To her credit, Aniston, who divorced Brad Pitt after he started an affair with Jolie while filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith, has stayed mum about their relationship. She did slip once when she mentioned how Pitt and Jolie were insensitive for portraying a 50's family scene in W Magazine when the wounds of her break-up were still so raw.

But she didn't unleash — except to girlfriends like Courteney Cox — her feelings about the woman who seduced her husband. Until now. She is promoting her Christmas movie, Marley & Me, and it seemed the right time to unload. (The title of her next film, He’s Just Not That Into You, might be too close to home.)

In the December issue of Vogue magazine, Aniston commented on her annoyance at Jolie for recounting a detailed timeline of how she fell in love with Pitt.

"There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening," said Aniston, who could have benefiting from reading our story on How to Catch a Cheating Husband.

"I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss,” Aniston said. “That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool."

Yet she seems to have less icy feelings toward her ex, Brad Pitt, who was equally responsible for the affair. After all, it takes two to do a tantric tango.

"[We've exchanged] a few very kind hellos ... and congratulations on your babies," she said.

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Rebecca Romijn knows a thing or two about X-Men and wants to set the record straight. In an interview with Page Six magazine, Romijn, who starred as Mystique in the X-Men movies, refuted rumors that her divorce from John Stamos happened because she didn’t want kids.

“There is absolutely no truth to that,” said Romijn who has a recurring role in the hit television show Ugly Betty. “I desperately wanted kids. I was never a girl who dreamed about what her wedding day would be like, but I’ve always dreamed about decorating my baby’s nursery.”

Well, her dream is coming true. Now happily married to Jerry O’Connell, who played a detective in the TV series Crossing Jordan, she is seven months pregnant with twin girls and looks, as she says, like a “beached whale.”

Romijn was married to Stamos (best known from ER) from 1998 to 2005. But one can suppose that she may have had lingering doubts about the relationship, and wanted to wait until she was certain about the marriage before building a family. Sometimes you don’t really know someone until you live with them for a while. They can be fun boyfriends or even a romantic husband but a wife might wonder if they have the qualities to be a good family man.

As for O’Donnell, Romijn said, “I knew early on he would be a fantastic dad. He’s a pragmatic, smart, savvy, enthusiastic person. He really lives his life with tremendous integrity and he’s a healthy person in every single way.”

The couple married in 2007. O’Connell had to backtrack on a comment he made on Conan O’Brien’s show in September, when he called his wife “huge.” He told People magazine, "I meant to say that there are specific areas of my wife that are larger than normal and growing every day. All other portions of my wife are quite petite. I apologize to her and will be coming home with flowers."

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Some call it karma or comeuppence,  or stars colliding but not in your favor: Sienna Miller's romance with "Brothers and Sisters" star Balthazar Getty now seems over.  Sources say that Getty was stalling getting the divorce he had promised, and now the relationship is over.

As we reported, Miller was caught canoodling with the very married Getty this summer. The affair sparked a lot of criticism since Getty has a wife and four children, one just a baby.

Although his representative released the standard defensive, that the actor had had problems in his relationship before this happened and he and his wife were in the midst of separating, the news came a shock to his wife, Rosetta.

In the past four months, Rosetta has played it smart by building her own life away from her husband but still welcoming him to share the children's birthdays and school events. This allowed him to see what he was missing while the novelty of something new perhaps wore off with the ho-hum of everyday life. Plus, it's hard to be involved in a relationship that so many disapprove of, something the couple faced on a daily basis. Getty complained about the intrusiveness of the press, calling it "dangerous."

Last weekend, Miller acknowledged to Us Magazine that it's "nice not to have a relationship that the press constantly want to scrutinize."

Well Sienna, the press wouldn't be scrutinizing it as much if you were not with a married man.

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When you're an actor, a profession where divorce rates soar, one must have a defense strategy to stay married. For 90210 veteran Jennie Garth, it's accepting that someone will be cuter than her hunky hubby Peter Facinelli. The former star of WB's What I Like About You knows she may "be on set" with someone she likes, but has to mentally resist temptation. The mother of three daughters with Facinelli told OK! magazine that she is determined to make her marriage work.

Aren't we all? Don't we all hope our relationship will stick like crazy glue vs. scotch tape, which can be ripped away?

But having a defensive approach may be smart. It means that you realize how fragile relationships can be.

Clearly some Hollywood marriages last longer than a season. Jada and Will Smith have been married for 11 years, and vow to stick together. Other long-term celebrity marriages that thrive include Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scalia, Stephen Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, and the late Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. But notice how a member of each of these couples has been divorced — and with the lessons learned, chose partners that complement their individual needs and personality. Love then flourished and endured.

Others make a different vow that is equally as binding: After they have gotten divorced, they don't remarry, but are committed couples all the same. Look at Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, or Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. For these couples, marriage may be the pitts, but love is as sweet as a cherry.

Instead of a marriage prenup, leave it to the ancestors of Solomon to figure out a divorce prenup. Yes indeedy. This week, Israel's Knesset (the country's Parliament) informed the High Court of Justice it would vote on a bill aimed at dividing assets of couples undergoing divorce procedures before the divorce was granted.

This concept is designed to prevent a spouse — usually the spurned one — from extorting a larger settlement in exchange for agreeing to the divorce.

According to the petitioners, the husband uses the power of the purse to get agreement from the wife in the majority of cases. In Israel, as in the U.S., more women launch divorce proceedings than do men.

The Haredi parties (religious leaders) strongly oppose the bill regarding it as an attempt to weaken the rabbinical courts' power. (In the Jewish faith, you have to get a get, a blessing/permission from a rabbi, before getting a divorce.)

A court can rule that you and your hubby split up, but until they get a get, the religious feel they can't remarry, and that the divorce is not accepted in the eyes of God.

The problem with the new law, others argue, is that it would make divorce so egalitarian that the person who suffers doesn't get a little extra for the hassle and pain. And they say, it may make divorce too easy.

However, let's face it. Few people are cavalier about divorce and most come to that decision with great difficulty.

The bill was approved last July, but it is up to the Knesset to make a final decision.

Being addicted to your wife is one thing, being addicted to drugs is another. Which is supposedly why Gretchen Bonaduce divorced her husband, Danny, after 16 years of marriage. Now Danny Bonaduce has agreed to pay $16,000 a month in child support and alimony.

According to People, he will also get joint custody of his two children, a 13-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son. The way the settlement breaks down is that he will pay $6,000 to his kids and $10,000 for his wife. Gretchen Bonaduce filed for divorce in 2007 after the two appeared in the VH1 reality show Breaking Bonaduce.

The two will also split their accumulated assets. Obviously the couple tried to work it out but sometimes the strains and pains of dealing with a partner’s substance abuse creates such a breakdown of trust that it cannot be repaired.

The Bonaduces do plan on co-parenting their kids amicably and with affection.

Now a DJ, Danny Bonaduce was best known for playing the red-headed kid with the bass in the TV show The Partridge Family.