Madonna has taken to Instagram to share a rare family photo with all six of her children, showcasing the lavish Thanksgiving celebration she held at her home in New York City this week.
The 'Vogue' chart-topper posted a series of images to her 18.6 million followers with the caption: "What I'm thankful for…………." The series of images included pictures of herself surrounded by all six of her children - Lourdes, 26, Rocco, 22, David, 17, Mercy James, 16, and twins Estere and Stelle, 10.
In the group image, the 64-year-old was sporting a black dress and tight bone-colored waist cincher, along with black tights and pointed booties. Her auburn hair was left long and styled in waves, and she was wearing multiple glitzy necklaces and rings.
Lourdes - who has found success as a model - was wearing a black bustier and slacks, and posed for an image alongside her famous mother.
The Savage x Fenty model was conceived during Madonna's previous relationship with fitness trainer Carlos Leon in 1996. Madonna's eldest son Rocco was born in 2000 while she was married to British filmmaker and screenwriter Guy Ritchie.
In 2006, Ritchie and Madonna adopted David from an orphanage in Malawi, when he was just 13 months old. Mercy James, and twins Stelle and Estere were also all adopted from Malawi, in 2009 and 2017 respectively.
The mom-of-six has been open about her struggles with adoption, telling PEOPLE that it has been full of complications. She stated that when she brought David home from Malawi in 2006: "Every newspaper said I kidnapped him. In my mind, I was thinking, 'Wait a minute. I'm trying to save somebody's life. Why are you all s****ing on me right now?' I did everything by the book. That was a real low point for me. I would cry myself to sleep."
At the time of David's adoption, rumors began swirling as to whether it was ethical or not. Madonna was criticized for allegedly adopting him against the will of his father, an issue that she cleared up on the Oprah show in 2006, stating: "The Minister of Children and Mother’s Welfare went and found his father and asked him permission and told him exactly what he wanted to do, and he agreed to it orally but we also had to get his written consent," via NME.
"He had to be brought to court and he came into the courtroom with [Guy Ritchie] and I, and we had a hearing all together. He looked into my eyes and said to me that he was very grateful that I was going to give his son a life and that had he kept his son with him in the village, he would have buried him. I didn't really need any more confirmation that I was doing the right thing and that I had his blessing," she added.
Then, when she tried to adopt Mercy James in 2009, she was stopped by Malawi officials as she was in the midst of divorcing Ritchie. They told her that she "was not capable of raising a child."
"The way I was treated - that sexist behavior - was ridiculous," Madonna stated, adding that she challenged the Malawi Supreme Court and won, earning her the right to adopt Mercy James in 2009.
"Because I'm a public figure, people don't want to be perceived as giving me any kind of special treatment, so I get the hard road," she admitted, adding that motherhood has been "complicated" but "so worth it."
