Madonna Discloses 2016 Suicidal Thoughts, 2023 Sepsis

In her first interview in nine years on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, Madonna said she contemplated suicide and self-harm during a bitter 2016 custody battle with ex-husband Guy Ritchie over their son Rocco, recounting that she would sob in her dressing room and at one point thought 'they might as well just kill me' and wanted to 'cut my arms off.' She called the dispute one of the most painful periods of her life. The 2016 custody fight ended with Rocco remaining in the UK. Madonna said she no longer feels that way and is now 'really good friends' with Rocco, and credited studying Kabbalah and a broader spiritual path with helping her process the trauma and forgive others, including reconciling with her brother Christopher Ciccone before his death in June 2024. She also disclosed a separate near-fatal health scare in mid-2023 when a bacterial infection progressed to sepsis, leaving her unconscious in intensive care for four days and forcing a pause to her Celebration tour.