Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith Call Off Their Engagement: Report

Last Updated: April 05, 2023, 04:18 IST

Rupert Murdoch is seen with Anna Lesley Smith (Image: Twitter @Naija_PR)

Murdoch and Smith’s relationship became public earlier this year when they were photographed vacationing in the Caribbean island of Barbados

Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith have called off their engagement less than a month after announcing their would be tying the knot, according to Vanity Fair.

92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman Murdoch and 66-year-old former dental hygienist Smith reportedly planned to marry this summer, less than a year after Murdoch finalized his divorce from his fourth wife, model-actor Jerry Hall.

As per the source cited by Vanity Fair, Murdoch had become increasingly uncomfortable with Smith’s outspoken evangelical views. However, a spokesperson for Murdoch declined to comment.

Last month, Murdoch had announced his engagement with Ann Lesley Smith whose late husband was Chester Smith, a country singer as well as radio and TV executive.

He told New York Post: “I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy.”

The couple plans to get married in the summer. “We’re both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together,” Murdoch had said.

Murdoch’s business empire includes Fox News in the US and the tabloid newspaper the Sun in the United Kingdom.

Murdoch has six children from his first three marriages. Prudence MacLeod, with his first wife Patricia Booker, then Elisabeth and sons Lachlan and James with his second wife Anna Mann.

He has two more daughters, Grace and Chloe, with his third wife Wendi Deng. Murdoch’s fourth wife was the former supermodel Jerry Hall, from whom he split last year.

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