A-Rod’s Wife to File for Divorce 3

Alex and Cynthia Scurtis RodriguezMoney doesn’t buy happiness. If you ever needed proof of that, take a look at New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. The superstar third baseman makes $28,000,000 a year in salary – plus endorsements. And he’s having a pretty decent year on the field. But his personal life? A complete and utter mess.

A-Rod’s wife of five years, Cynthia Scurtis Rodriguez, plans to file for divorce on Monday, July 7, according to her attorney. Cynthia has hired Houston divorce attorney Earle Lilly and Miami divorce attorney Maurice Kutner to represent her in the Miami-Dade County, Florida courts. A-Rod was raised in Miami and the couple has always kept a home there.

The news of the filing comes on the heels of a week of tabloid speculation that A-Rod has been having an adulterous affair with singer Madonna. Madonna has denied any improper relationship. A-Rod has not commented.

Attorney Lilly, however, has done more than commented. Not holding back, Lilly told the press that the “relationship with Madonna was the final straw for Mrs. Rodriguez.” The divorce papers reportedly cite a long period of infidelity on A-Rod’s part as well as emotional abandonment of his family. Rodriguez was spotted on several occasions with a Las Vegas stripper last year. A photograph of the two ultimately made the newspapers. (Florida is a no-fault divorce state – so such allegations will only be relevant to (1) argue that A-Rod is unfit for custody of his children; (2) potentially trigger some contingency clause in a prenuptial agreement that might pay off for Cynthia or (3) convince a judge that A-Rod’s behavior should result in an uneven distribution of assets.)

The Rodriguezes have two daughters, Natasha, age three, and Ella, born on April 21 of this year. Rodriguez has allegedly only seen Ella a handful of times since her birth. It seems likely that Cynthia will seek sole legal and physical custody of the children – but that is yet to be seen.

Lilly, who previously represented the common-law wife of Yankees’ Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, is said to be reviewing the former couple’s prenuptial agreement. Rodriguez is reportedly worth close to a billion dollars but was already an extremely wealthy man at the time of the couple’s marriage in late 2002. Much of his fortune may be premarital and protected by the prenup. If the prenup is challenged and found invalid for any reason, Florida courts will equitably distribute the marital assets between husband and wife – meaning whatever division is deemed “just and proper” in these particular circumstances.

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