Ritchie defines marriage to Madonna as "fine"

Film director Guy Ritchie told People magazine on Friday that despite rumors his marriage to Madonna is on the rocks it was "fine."

"My marriage is fine as far as I'm aware of," the British director was quoted as telling People in an interview.

Rumors have been circulating for months that Ritchie's 8-year marriage to Madonna, 49, is on the rocks, despite the singer's denials that the couple are planning a divorce.

Ritchie, 39, who found fame with his 1998 movie "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," said Madonna had allowed him to look at his hometown of London with fresh eyes.

"I live vicariously through my wife, so I was once a spy and now I've become a tourist, and it's much more fun to live in London as a tourist than it is as a spy," he told People.

Ritchie is in Southern California promoting his new movie, "RocknRolla," while Madonna is rehearsing in New York for her upcoming world tour, which starts in August.

"RocknRolla," set for an October release in the United States, takes place in the London criminal underworld of Russian gangsters and stars Gerard Butler as a street-smart mobster, along with Thandie Newton, Jeremy Piven and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges.

Ritchie's next movie is "Sherlock Holmes," a drama centering on the fictional English detective and starring Robert Downey, Jr. It's slated for release in 2010.