September 19, 2008 ARod, wife reach divorce settlement

MIAMI (AP) - It's over for A-Rod and his wife of more than five years.

With a prenuptial agreement in place, lawyers for the couple confirmed Friday that a settlement was reached less than three months after Cynthia Rodriguez first filed for divorce from New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.

Terms were not disclosed, but attorneys for both sides said the paramount concern was the welfare of the couple's two daughters - 3-year-old Natasha and 5-month-old Ella.

"This was and remains a personal family matter for both of them," said Maurice Kutner, attorney for Cynthia Rodriguez, reading from a statement approved by the couple. "All of their decisions were based upon and guided by the best interests of their daughters."

Allegations of repeated infidelity were at the root of Cynthia Rodriguez's divorce filing. Not mentioned in the legal papers but hovering over the matter was an alleged liaison between A-Rod and pop star Madonna, both having denied a romance.

Because Florida is a no-fault divorce state, a showing of unfaithfulness or any other cause doesn't factor into the outcome. The 33-year-old third baseman repeatedly said in court papers the divorce should be governed by the couple's prenup signed about a month before their marriage in Dallas on Nov. 2, 2002.

A-Rod promised in his divorce reply that he would continue to support his daughters and he hoped for a custody deal so the couple could "co-parent

It's not known if that means his ex-wife gets the couple's $12 million waterfront home in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables. Rodriguez lists a Park Avenue apartment in New York as his residence in the divorce papers.

Rodriguez, baseball's highest-paid player, is in the first year of a 10-year deal with the Yankees that will pay him at least $275 million.

Cynthia Rodriguez, 35, most likely would have lost if she'd tried to fight the prenup, said Lynne Z. Gold-Bikin, former chair of the American Bar Association's family law section and an attorney in Philadelphia.

"It saves him legal fees, and it saves him publicity, and it saves the kids," Gold-Bikin said.

Rodriguez, a perennial All-Star, is batting .304 this season with 35 homers and 101 RBIs.