Alex Rodriguez’s marriage allegedly ended because of Material Girl, and he’s finally speaking out about it.
The retired MLB player and his ex-wife, Cynthia Scurtis, reflected on the events that led to their 2008 divorce, including his reported affair with Madonna, on HBO’s latest episode of “Alex vs ARod.”
Although the former couple did not mention Madonna by name, their conversation brought up an old Post article with the headline “A-Rod and Madonna’s Squeeze Play.”
The article was published in July 2008, less than three months after Rodriguez and the “Hung Up” singer gave birth to their second child, daughter Ella, and rumors of a romance were circulating.
“At that point, we were divorced,” Scurtis recalled on Thursday’s episode.
Scurtis, who cited an “extramarital affair” in her 2008 divorce filing, pointed out in the documentary that a “similar scenario” occurred when her first daughter, Natasha, was born in 2004.
“He seemed extremely apologetic and not proud of his actions,” Scurtis said of Rodriguez’s first act of infidelity, when he was spotted with a mystery woman at a Toronto strip club.
“I knew he had his own demons, and I was hoping he would get help. I was hoping it would end differently,” Cynthia told viewers.
“He was really upset, so that affected me. But at the same time, I think it also felt liberating.”
Rodriguez admitted that she “could have been more faithful” to Scurtis while she was married to him.
The New York Yankees legend did not confirm or deny the affair, but said, “In hindsight, I could have been a better husband. I could have been more present. … I could have been more sympathetic, more empathetic. All of that. Anything.”
At the time, he used baseball as an “escape” and even “hit a home run” against the Red Sox on the day Scurtis filed for divorce.
Representatives for Rodriguez, 50, and Madonna, 67, did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
The former shortstop previously denied having an affair with Madonna, telling People magazine, “We’re friends. That’s all.”
The Grammy winner, who was married to Guy Ritchie when Rodriguez made headlines, did the same.
“I have no romantic interest in any way with Alex Rodriguez,” she said in a statement to the outlet. “I have nothing to do with his marital status.”
Rodriguez’s HBO show began streaming last week, and the premiere also delved into the end of his relationship with Scurtis.
On the Nov. 6 episode, Scurtis said her ex-husband has a “big heart” but has lived a life so “baseball-filled” that he is “retarded in terms of natural human development.”
