Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 92, and his fifth fiancée Ann Lesley Smith, 66, call OFF their engagement only two weeks after it was first announced
- The 92-year-old media baron had proposed to the former dental hygienist, 66
- Their engagement was called off today after coming to a ‘mutual decision’
Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith have called off their engagement, only two weeks after it was first announced.
The 92-year-old media baron had proposed to the former dental hygienist, 66, with an 11-carat diamond ring thought to worth up to £2million just last month.
The couple, who previously described their whirlwind romance as a ‘gift from god’, planned to wed this summer. But their engagement was abruptly called off today after the pair were said to have reluctantly come to ‘mutual decision’ after talks last night.
A friend close to the couple suggested Ms Smith had struggled being in the public eye: ‘She just could not cope with being in the public eye.
Media baron Rupert Murdoch, 91, and dental hygenist Ann Lesley Smith, 66, have called off their engagement, only two weeks after it was first announced. He proposed with an 11-carat diamond ring thought to worth up to £2m last month (the pair are pictured in January)
The couple, who previously described their whirlwind romance as a ‘gift from god’, planned to wed this summer. But their engagement was abruptly called off today after the pair were said to have reluctantly come to ‘mutual decision’ after talks last night
She is very private. ‘They sat down and talked yesterday and agreed it was better for them to part.
He accepts that he will always be in the public eye and there is nothing he can or would do to change that.’
The Mail understands it was a mutual decision, one of great regret for both parties. Another friend told the Mail that the media baron still remains very fond of Ms Smith.
The Mail understands it was a mutual decision, one of great regret for both parties. Another friend told the Mail that the media baron still remains very fond of Ms Smith (pictured together in March)
Murdoch finalised his divorce from his fourth wife, Jerry Hall (seen on their wedding day in 2016), in August 2022 following six years of marriage
They said: ‘He admires her, respects her and thinks she is an amazing woman. He loves the fact she is so calm and so strong … and she shares his religious convictions.’
Ms Smith was introduced to the newly single billionaire in September at a wine event at his Moraga vineyard in California when he waited a fortnight before asking to see her again.
Media mogul Murdoch, said to be worth $17billion (£13.7billion), told his newspaper the 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 wedding would have been Murdoch’s fifth after his last marriage, to supermodel Jerry Hall, ended abruptly in July last year.
The divorce was finalised within five weeks after they had been married for six years.