Madonna and A-Rod seek Manhattan home

Madonna certainly is not one to let the grass grow under her feet. Barely a fortnight after she and Guy Ritchie got their quickie divorce in London, the 50-year-old singer is reportedly looking for a new home in Manhattan to share with her "special friend", the baseball ace Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez.

According to the New York Post, the pair have been looking on the Upper East Side at "private, double-width mansions in the vicinity of $30m to $60m". Said the paper's informant: "Madonna personally came to look at one house a couple of months ago, and Alex has been looking recently." One of their requirements, adds the source, is that the house has "a garage that you can drive into for additional privacy".

Meanwhile, Rodriguez, 33, has been hit by plummeting US real estate values: the asking price of the New York property that he once shared with his ex-wife Cynthia has dropped from $14m to $10m. He will be pleased to hear that Madonna's tour current world tour looks like pulling in more than $280m, making it the highest grossing tour ever by a female artist. ·