MIA Benjamin Bronfman

MIA Benjamin Bronfman, M.I.A. has split from her long-term fiance Benjamin Bronfman, according to a report in the New York Daily News.

The British hip hop star and Bronfman, an environmentalist, have a two-year-old son together, Ikhyd (NOT ‘Ickett’). The Daily News says it was M.I.A. – real name Maya Arulpragasam – who decided to end the relationship. Neither Arulpragasam or Bronfman have passed comment on the reports.

According to the article, the couple had been spending lengthy periods apart, with the 29-year-old Bronfman and Ikhyd staying in New York while M.I.A. was in her hometown of London.

The 36-year-old rapper has discussed her wedding in interviews before. Last year she told one U.S. magazine:

“I’ve always wanted to get married in a white suit. I used to work at a Kodak lab in England, cutting photos after they’d come out of the wash, and in one I saw this couple getting married on a beach in white suits, and their kid was there.”

Alas, the white suits may have to be hung away for another day.

As you probably know, M.I.A. has been attracting headlines aplenty at the moment, after she flipped the bird during the Super Bowl halftime show. With crushing predictability, the one-fingered salute prompted a hilariously over-the-top period of self-reflection and moral hand-wringing from the American press.

Ikhyd Bronfman

Ikhyd Bronfman, Madonna, center, regret inviting M.I.A., right, to join her for the Super Bowl halftime show, along with Nicki Minaj?  If M.I.A. wanted the spotlight to herself, well, she’s got it.

The rapper and Sri Lankan native, who flipped the bird to cameras during the Super Bowl halftime show quarterbacked by Madonna and thus succeeded in dominating post-game chatter, is revealed to be an absentee mom who spends weeks at a time away from her 3-year-old son with fiance Benjamin Bronfman. Ain’t fame great?

Did we say fiance? Make that ex: The New York Daily News reveals that Bronfman, the son of Seagrams heir and philanthropist Edgar Bronfman Jr., has split from the rapper and appears to have moved on. M.I.A. has been spending most of her time in London while Bronfman, with the help of his mother, cares for Ikhyd (yes, that’s his name) in New York.

And how does Madonna feel about the (not altogether unfamiliar) spotlight-snatching tactics of M.I.A.? A source tells Britain’s the Sun that the singer had no idea that M.I.A. was going to pull the stunt, and wasn’t impressed. “Madonna wanted to put on a world-beating performance. But everyone ended up talking about this girl’s middle finger.” The same newspaper also cites a source close to M.I.A. saying she was caught up in the moment and regrets the gesture.

Maya Arulpragasam

Maya Arulpragasam, M.I.A. has split from her fiance Benjamin Bronfman. The ‘Paper Planes’ hitmaker — who has a two-year-old son, Ikhyd, with the environmentalist — has reportedly called time on the long-term relationship, according to the New York Daily News.

While no further details are yet known, in the wake of the split the hip hop star — real name Maya Arulpragasam — is believed to have been spending most of her time in her native London, while Benjamin, 29, and Ikhyd remain in New York, with the tot being looked after by his grandmother Sherry Bronfman.

The rapper has previously spoken out about her impending wedding, admitting she was keen to wear a white suit as she walks down the aisle because she was so impressed by a mystery couple’s marriage outfits.

She explained: “I’ve always wanted to get married in a white suit. I used to work at a Kodak lab in England, cutting photos after they’d come out of the wash, and in one I saw this couple getting married on a beach in white suits, and their kid was there.”

However, M.I.A. caused controversy at Sunday night’s Super Bowl when she flipped her middle finger at the camera while she performed alongside Madonna.

Referring to the incident, a spokesperson for NBC sports said: “We apologise for the inappropriate gesture that aired during halftime. It was a spontaneous gesture that our delay system caught late.”