Now it’s about their kids.
Alex Rodriguez is negotiating to see his two young daughters – because his estranged wife has made it difficult for the Yankee superstar to spend time with the kids while their marriage disintegrates, sources told The Post.
Cynthia Rodriguez “hasn’t made it easy to see the children,” said a source close to A-Rod, whose wife sued for divorce Monday amid claims he had a relationship with Madonna.
MORE: Stripper Bares Her Support For Cynthia
PAGE SIX: How Kravitz Got Dragged Into Mess
MORE: She Faces Tough Pitch On Prenup
“[The Rodriguezes’] relationship has been a train wreck for over a year . . . she has not made them available.”
A-Rod‘s spokesman, Richard Rubenstein, said, “He is burning to see his children, and fully intends to play a role in their future.”
The source said Cynthia went to Paris to see rocker Lenny Kravitz and “she refused to let [Alex] have the kids. When she went away, she prevented Alex from seeing his daughters.”
C-Rod didn’t send Natasha, 3, and 2 1/2-month-old Ella to be with their daddy while she jaunted off to the City of Light with an entourage. Instead, she left them behind in Miami – where her parents live and where the Rodriguezes have a $12 million mansion.
News broke last week that Alex, 32, has been paying late-night visits to the Manhattan apartment of almost-50 megastar Madonna. The stories spurred Cynthia to go hang out with Kravitz.
Cynthia, 35, then returned to Miami, where she filed for divorce, citing in legal papers Alex’s “extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct.”
She is seeking permanent custody of their kids, in addition to the mansion and a large chunk of his money.
Because Cynthia has been spitefully keeping the girls from the A-Rod, now “he is negotiating to see the children,” a source said.
It is not clear if the vengeful wife will allow that to happen anytime soon. Cynthia’s lawyer did not return a call seeking comment.
Meanwhile, an explosive new report indicated that Alex has been “in love” with Madonna since at least January.
At dinner with a friend in Miami that month, the Bronx Bombers’ third baseman “began tittering like a smitten schoolboy” over text messages with a woman, according a story in Us Weekly.
“He kept smiling, acting as if he was a little kid,” Alex’s friend told Us. “He told me it was Madonna. I was shocked.”
“He proceeded to say he was in love with her, but I thought he was kidding,” the friend said. “But he wasn’t.”
In February, the friend said, A-Rod told him, “She’s my f- – -ing soulmate, dude!”
Madonna denies having an affair with Rodriguez, and insists her own marriage to British director Guy Ritchie is not on the verge of ending, despite reports they both have consulted divorce lawyers.
But the “Like a Virgin” singer has introduced A-Rod to the study of kabbalah, a mystical form of Judaism, several people say.
The Post revealed last week that Dodd Romero, A-Rod‘s ex-trainer and godfather to the couple’s daughters, said Rodriguez had been “brainwashed” by Madonna.
Cynthia’s father told Us Weekly that Alex “has gotten involved in kabbalah, which isn’t something we understand. My family’s Greek Orthodox.”
Ironically, Cynthia might have only herself to blame for setting the stage for Alex’s obsession with Madonna, sources told The Post.
Sources said C-Rod had been a huge Madonna fan, and got her All-Star hubby into the singer’s music in a bid to get close to the Material Girl herself.
Whenever Madonna performed in New York, sources said, Cynthia had her husband go to the concerts, asked others in the Yankees organization to accompany them, and would hang out with the singer after the show.
A photo of Cynthia and Alex at Madonna’s June 29, 2006, show at Madison Square Garden shows them sitting with then-Yankee Miguel Cairo.
A source close to Alex confirmed Cynthia had encouraged an interest in Madonna and wanted to be close to the “Vogue” singer.
“I think she’s living her own dream, and she’s the initial architect of all this,” said the source.
That source scoffed at reports that Alex only briefly visited Cynthia and baby Ella after the girl’s April birth because he was in a hurry to go back to Madonna.
“He didn’t jet back to see Madonna,” said the source. “That is an absolute fallacy.”
Instead, Alex needed to return to his obligations with the Yankees, who pay him a league-high $27.5 million a year – but Cynthia has been unwilling to accommodate the demands of his playing schedule, the source said.
The source said that despite Cynthia having access to a private jet, and being “surrounded by attendants who can attend to her every whim . . . her whim didn’t bring her back to New York or on the road.”
“Why hasn’t she made an effort to see Alex? Because she’s preoccupied and self-absorbed. She conveniently kept herself in Florida, and made herself unavailable to him . . . this is a longstanding thing. She seems burdened by being the wife of a player.”