“I felt a sense of freedom” - Alex Rodriguez’s ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis bares raw emotions over divorce amid affair rumors with Madonna

Alex Rodriguez's new HBO docuseries, Alex vs ARod, has given fans an insight into some of the most intricate and personal details of his life. In one such segment on the second episode of the series that was released on Thursday, Rodriguez and ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis opened up about the rumors of him being involved with pop star Madonna while they were married.

Scurtis acknowledged that her ex-husband's name being constantly discussed in the New York media affected their relationship. Without naming anyone, she admitted that an April 2008 incident was the final nail in the coffin. The production then cut to a headline from The New York Post, at the time, claiming a relationship between Rodriguez and Madonna, who was married to director Guy Ritchie.

“We were together for about a year and I got pregnant with Ella, and then when Ella was first born [in April 2008], a very similar scenario and at that point, we got divorced,” Scurtis said.

These were the second major headlines involving Rodriguez's alleged extramarital affairs at the time. The previous year, in 2007, the Yankees infielder was spotted with a woman in Toronto.

Cynthia and Rodriguez got divorced in 2008, with the former citing her husband's multiple affairs as a reason to go their separate ways.

“I knew that he had his own demons and I was hoping he would get help,” she said. “And I was hoping that it could end differently than it did. He was really upset [about the divorce] so that affected me, but at the same time, I think I felt a sense of freedom.”

Alex Rodriguez acknowledges the media's role in his split with Cynthia Scurtis

Alex Rodriguez himself addressed the rumor mill surrounding his personal life in the late 2000s when he played for the Yankees. He stated that the media scrutiny affected his marriage.

“First, I’ll say you can’t believe everything you read,” Rodriguez said on docuseries. “Some things are underplayed in the media and some things are overplayed and this is probably somewhere in the middle. “It was not like we were unhappy, but we were growing apart romantically. I don’t know. Marriage is challenging.”

Since his divorce, Rodriguez's dating life has been a major topic of discussion. He is currently dating fitness instructor Jaclyn Cordeiro. The docuseries will air its series finale on Thursday on HBO.

Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy