MANILA, Philippines?On the show biz scene, a time-tested truism is, ?Where there?s smoke, there?s fire.? In other words, if a rumor about stars persists despite their constant denials, there must be something to it.

The most recent example is the state of the marriage of Madonna and Guy Ritchie. For months now, the gossip mills have been churning out speculations about trouble in the Ritchie couple?s paradise.

Signals

Well, it turns out that all those smoke signals were indeed trying to say something: That the couple?s marriage was on fire. Just last Wednesday, their spokespersons announced that they had decided to divorce, ending one of Hollywood?s most colorful marital unions.

To their credit, Madonna and her director-husband gave their stormy marriage a really good try. Despite the fact that she was 10 years his senior, they held on for eight years, producing two similarly lovely and individualistic children.

Of late, however, show biz observers noted that Madonna and Guy were spending less and less time together. They tried to make up for this by showing up together at glittering celebrity events. It wasn?t enough, however. So, after all those tumultuous years, it could finally be over. What went wrong?

Some say that the couple?s hectic work load was the culprit, while others believed that Ritchie didn?t much like playing second fiddle to his more popular and mediagenic wife. Well, whatever the reason, the ?D? (divorce) die has been cast, and those smoke signals have been vindicated once again.

Ups and downs

What about the local show biz scene? The current fuss and bother here has been over the marriage of Sharon Cuneta and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, which is rumored to be experiencing its own ups and downs.

So, far, however, the ?facts? are decidedly smoky. Even Sharon herself has been asking rumor-mongers to come out with ?evidence? to prove their contentions about marital discord, but none have been forthcoming?as of this writing.

Pending stronger and more convincing revelations, therefore, we?ll have to take the Pangilinans at their word, and hope that there indeed is no fire and thus no real trouble in their version of show biz paradise.

Where there?s smoke, there?s fire. ?But only if the marital bed is really, truly burning.