Music icon Madonna has split from her professional boxer and gym coach boyfriend after only a year together, it’s been reported.
The legendary singer, 65, began dating boxer Josh Popper, 30, after they met through her son last year.
Josh and Madonna became romantically linked in early 2023, making their relationship Instagram official in February.
The loved-up pair were initially inseparable, with Madonna cheering him on at one of his boxing matches in March, and him joining her for a holiday to Portugal for her birthday in August.
As recently as December last year, Josh joined Madonna on stage during her Celebration Tour in Brooklyn, with the pair sharing a kiss in front of the excited crowd.
However, they haven’t been seen in public together since then, with reports claiming that the pair have thrown in the towel after Madonna’s work commitments made their romance untenable.
‘Madonna has barely seen Josh for months because her schedule was so hectic. Things just fizzled out,’ a source told The Sun.
They continued: ‘There is genuinely no bad blood – they’re still fond of each other. At the moment their relationship doesn’t feel feasible and they’ve cooled things off, but they are staying friends.’
The split comes at a busy time for Madonna, with the Queen of Pop kicking off her Celebration Tour at the O2 arena in London last year.
Josh and Madonna met through her adopted son, David Banda, 18, who had been taking boxing lessons at his Bredwinners gym in New York City.
The boxing coach and athlete, crowned the NYC Ring Masters Heavyweight Champion in 2023, also appeared on the reality TV show Summer House.
He bragged of his romance with the pop icon after she joined him at his gym on February 12 2023, captioning their photo together: ‘Another W for the books!’
After making their romance official, the pair spent much of the year travelling together, with the Queen of Pop supporting him at his boxing matches, and him at her side during a serious bacterial infection which saw her in the ICU for several days.
Reports of the pair’s split emerged as she was spotted with singer Eric Labat, 37, at a party in New York City. The French musician rose to fame as a contestant on a French singing competition in 2017.
Meanwhile, the Material Girl singer has been party to many such age-gap romances in her time, including backup dancers Ahlamalik Williams, 29, Brahim Zaibat, 37, and model Kevin Sampaio, 37.
Before then, she was married to actor Sean Penn from 1985 to 1989. Her most famous relationship is to Snatch and Lock Stock director Guy Ritchie, who she was married to from 2000 to 2008, and with whom shares one son, Rocco.
She has another biological child, Lourdes, who she shares with former partner Carlos Leon, and four adopted children: David, Mercy and twins Stella and Esther.
Madonna’s epic Celebration Tour ended earlier this month, culminating in a free concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which attracted a whopping 1.6 million fans.
The event, breaking records as the biggest standalone concert ever, was the culmination of a tour which saw Madonna traverse Europe and the States, before making her way across North America, Canada and Mexico City.
Metro.co.uk has approached Madonna’s reps for comment on this story.
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