Guy Ritchie is grateful for his marriage to Madonna because of their kids.

The 'Sherlock Holmes' director - who recently became a father again when his girlfriend Jacqui Ainsley gave birth to a boy - has no regrets about being married to the popstar for eight years and says the whole experience was overwhelmingly "positive" especially because of the former couple's biological son Rocco, 11, and adopted child David Banda, six.

He told Details magazine: "I enjoyed my first marriage. It's definitely not something I regret. The experience was ultimately very positive. I love the kids that came out of it, and I could see no other route to take. But you move on, don't you?

"When you end up with a lot of the things you set out to chase and find that you've stumbled into all sorts of hollow victories, then you become deeply philosophical. I'm quite happy that that experience was accelerated for me. I'm glad I made money, in other words. And I'm glad I got married."

However, Guy admitted their marriage wasn't always easy, saying: "I stepped into a soap opera, and I lived in it for quite a long time. I'll probably be more eloquent on it 10 years from now."