Madonna, Guy Ritchie separated in 2003

Washington (ANI): Queen of pop Madonna and director hubby Guy Ritchie had a brief separation in 2003, according to a Brit author.

Wendy Leigh, who co-authored the book on Madonna with her brother Christopher Ciccone, said that the couple separated for a short time in February 2003, following which they went for counseling.

"Madonna had serious reservations about the marriage and about Guy and expressed them to Christopher in the letter," Fox News quoted Leigh, as saying. "There were details about Guy's past and Madonna's insecurities. The letter took my breath away. It showed me how bright she was and the woman behind the Madonna-constructed image," Leigh added.

It was a bombshell that Leigh left out of the bestseller she wrote with Ciccone, Life With My Sister Madonna. Leigh also revealed that the Material Girl and her brother shared a close relationship. The 50-year-old singer had written many letters and e-mails to Christopher over the years. The latest was in 2003.

"She (Madonna) detailed her marriage to Guy in a way that a woman usually doesn't discuss her husband with her brother. It showed a side of her that made her very human," she said. “But think that this was so soon in the marriage. She was having grave doubts. But so was he. The separation was initiated by him," she added.