Billionaire media magnate Rupert Murdoch, 92, and his fifth fiancé Ann Lesley Smith, 66, call off their engagement just two weeks after the initial announcement
- The 92-year-old media baron had proposed to the former dental hygienist, 66
- Their engagement was called off today after they came to a ‘mutual decision’
Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith called off their engagement just two weeks after it was first announced.
The 92-year-old media baron had proposed to the former dental hygienist, 66, last month with an 11-carat diamond ring thought to be worth up to £2 million.
The couple, who previously described their whirlwind romance as a “gift from god,” planned to get married this summer. But their engagement was abruptly called off today after the pair reportedly reluctantly came to a ‘mutual decision’ following talks last night.
A friend close to the couple suggested that Mrs Smith had struggled to be in the public eye: ‘She just couldn’t handle being in the public eye.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 91, and dental hygienist Ann Lesley Smith, 66, have called off their engagement just two weeks after it was first announced. He proposed last month with an 11-carat diamond ring worth up to £2 million (the couple will be photographed in January)
The couple, who previously described their whirlwind romance as a “gift from god,” planned to get married this summer. But their engagement was abruptly called off today after the pair reportedly reluctantly came to a ‘mutual decision’ following talks last night
She is very private. “They sat down to talk yesterday and agreed it was better for them to separate.
He accepts that he will always be in the public eye and there is nothing he can or will do to change that.”
The Mail understands that it was a mutual decision, one both parties deeply regret. Another friend told the Mail that the media baron still adores Ms Smith.
The Mail understands that it was a mutual decision, one both parties deeply regret. Another friend told the Mail that the media baron still adores Ms Smith (pictured together in March)
Murdoch finalized his divorce from his fourth wife, Jerry Hall (seen on their wedding day in 2016), in August 2022 after six years of marriage
They said, ‘He admires her, respects her and thinks she’s a wonderful woman. He likes the fact that she is so calm and so strong… and she shares his religious beliefs.”
Ms Smith was introduced to the newly single billionaire at a wine event at his Moraga vineyard in California in September when he waited a fortnight before asking to see her again.
Media mogul Murdoch, reportedly worth $17 billion, told his newspaper The New York Post: “I was very nervous. I was afraid of falling in love, but I knew it would be my last.
‘Better that. I’m happy.’
The marriage would have been Murdoch’s fifth after his last marriage, to supermodel Jerry Hall, ended abruptly in July last year.
The divorce was finalized within five weeks of their six-year marriage.