When Madonna shared several festive snaps of her family on Christmas Day, there was one face which was clearly missing from all the fun. The performer's son Rocco Ritchie didn't spend December 25 with his mum – instead, the teenager spent Christmas with his film director father Guy Ritchie, his model wife Jacqui Ainsley and their three children.
Madonna shared various happy snaps of her children Mercy, nine, David, 10, and 19-year-old Lourdes celebrating the holidays – but her eldest son was clearly not far from her thoughts. She shared a throwback snap of Rocco, wishing Merry Christmas to the "sunshine of my life".
Madonna and Rocco spent Christmas apart
Rocco hasn't missed out on time with him mum this year, however, after being on the road for two months on her Rebel Heart tour, where he worked backstage.
The 15-year-old accompanied his mum for much of the trip, which included dates in Vancouver, Los Angeles and Washington. In an interview in August, Madonna said that Rocco did not want to perform on stage with her and would be working backstage on her tour as "your mom is not cool" at his age.
Rocco will remain in London for the time being it seems, while his parents work out what to do about custody. The pair's problems became public on Wednesday when Madonna went to court in New York to try and have Rocco return to the US to spend Christmas with her.
Mercy James was snapped in a Christmas hat
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Deborah Kaplan ruled that Rocco must return to America some time before the start of the new school year, and if he does want to live full time with his father then he most go home and see his mother first.
During the hearing at the Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday Mr Ritchie’s lawyer Eric Buckley said that Rocco has "expressed very clearly" that he did not want to return to New York.
Rocco is reportedly upset with his mum over embarrassing photos on her social media
Although the source of Rocco's hesitance to return to the Big Apple is not clear, there has been much speculation it could be down to Madonna posting embarrassing pictures on social media.
In September, the Material Girl singer took to Instagram to upload a funny photo of her eldest son with his long hair styled in bunches. He can been seen with his arms folded across his chest and looking down at the floor, with his mum smiling over his shoulder. "Blonde Ambition! #rebelhearttour," Madonna joked in her caption, referencing her iconic 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour.