With two failed marriages and a legion of lovers behind her, you could forgive Madonna for being something of a cynic in matters of the heart.
But the singer on Friday admitted that she was still a romantic and hoped one day to be 'swept away by a knight in shining armour'. She also revealed that despite the breakdown of her marriages to actor Sean Penn and director Guy Ritchie she would wed again if asked.
The 53-year-old was speaking to chat show host Graham Norton before the premiere of her new film, WE. Madonna, who directed the movie about the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, chose a classic black velvet strapless gown and lace cape for last night's red carpet appearance at the Odeon cinema in Kensington, West London.
And although the Material Girl would easily pass for a woman 15 years younger, she gave a few clues to her real age by covering her tell-tale wrinkly hands with a pair of bright red leather gloves.
The mother of four, who arrived with her dancer boyfriend Brahim Zaibat, who at 24 is 29 years her junior, had earlier told Norton: "If you're a romantic like me, and every girl I know is, every girl wants to be swept off her feet by a knight in shining armour. Unfortunately we're raised on those fairy tales. Even if we are sophisticated, educated, intelligent, evolved human beings, we like to think in the back of our minds that Mr Right is going to sweep us off our feet and take us into the sunset, and we're going to live happily ever after. 'But we keep getting disappointed. If you have even half a brain you know that doesn't exist."
When asked if she could see herself walking down the aisle again, Madonna, who has dated a number of high-profile men including John F Kennedy Jnr, replied: "I could actually, yes. I think I'm a pretty good judge of character but I have made a few mistakes."
The singer divorced Ritchie, 43, after eight years of marriage in 2008. He is dating model Jacqui Ainsley and the couple had a baby son in September. While recording an interview for the Irish presenter's BBC show, to be shown tomorrow night, Madonna also revealed that she was just like every other harassed mother of teenagers.
She told how her 15-year-old daughter Lourdes raids her wardrobe to steal her clothes and often shows her "no respect".
She said: "She is 15 but she's very sophisticated for her age. I don't even have to ask and she gives me her opinion. I play her songs and say 'what do you think. Like it, don't like it? Cool, uncool?' She's very opinionated. If I say to my daughter 'that outfit is a little bit too risque', my daughter will look at me and say, 'that's rich coming from you'."
"'And she borrows my clothes a lot. She's always sneaking into my room at six in the morning when I'm sleeping. She loves these combat boots that I wear. Maybe she loans them to her friends because I don't see them for weeks. She doesn't like the fact she still has a nanny, but I have four kids so I need someone to look after them," she said.
