Trending News: Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch has announced his engagement to Ann Lesley Smith, just six months after they first met. The 92-year-old Murdoch revealed that he popped the question to Smith, 66, with an Asscher-cut diamond solitaire ring, which he personally selected. This news comes less than a year after his divorce from Jerry Hall was finalized.
Murdoch, who has been married four times before, revealed that he was 'nervous' about proposing again, admitting that he had 'dreaded falling in love' but said he is confident his marriage to Smith will be his 'last.' The couple plans to wed in late summer.
Twitter reacts to Rupert Murdoch’s fifth marriage:
Overall, most Twitter users were shocked to find out that the media tycoon is getting married and the ripe old age of 92. Many Twitter users were of the opinion that Ann Lesley Smith is only marrying Rupert Murdoch for the money. Take a look at the some of the reactions from Twitterati here:
Rupert Murdoch’s previous marriages:
Rupert Murdoch has been married four times before his engagement to Ann Lesley Smith. He first married Patricia Booker, a former flight attendant in 1956, and they had a daughter named Prudence. The couple separated in 1967. The same year, Murdoch married Anna Mann, a Glasgow-born journalist, to whom he was married for 32 years, before their divorce in 1999. As part of their divorce settlement, Anna was awarded $1.7 billion, including $10 million in cash.
Just 17 days after his divorce from Anna, Murdoch married Wendi Deng, who was then 30 years old, while he was 68. That marriage lasted 14 years before they announced their divorce in 2013. Murdoch and his fourth wife, former supermodel Jerry Hall, were married for six years before their divorce was finalized in August 2022. They did not have any children together.
Ann Lesley Smith’s previous marriages:
Ann Lesley Smith has been married twice before, most recently to country music star Chester Smith, who passed away of a heart attack in August 2008 at the age of 78. Prior to that, she was married to John B. Huntington, an attorney who was a descendant of one of California's pioneering railroad families. According to interviews given by Smith, their life together was gilded but miserable, with the former police chaplain telling the Christian Broadcasting Network that Huntington physically and mentally abused her.
Ann Lesley Smith’s relationship with Rupert Murdoch:
Murdoch began dating Smith at the end of 2022, one month after his divorce from Jerry Hall was finalized. Murdoch and Smith met in September of that year at his Moraga vineyard in Bel Air, California, and the billionaire phoned her two weeks after meeting her at a 200-person event. Smith described the relationship as 'a gift from God,' revealing that the pair 'share the same beliefs' and 'speak the same language.' She said that she feels she 'waited for the right time' to get engaged again.
