Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 92, announces fifth marriage less than a year after divorce from Jerry Hall
20 March 2023, 12:59 | Updated: 20 March 2023, 13:11
Media giant Rupert Murdoch has revealed that he is engaged to his new girlfriend Ann Lesley Smith, less than a year after he divorced from fourth wife Jerry Hall.
The 92-year-old revealed on Monday that he had popped the question to 66-year-old Smith, adding that he had been "dreading falling love".
But Mr Murdoch, who has had four wives before, said he his confident that his marriage to Smith will be the last time he ties the knot.
"I was very nervous,' he told the New York Plan, while revealing plans to marry this summer.
"I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy."
The billionaire media mogul said that he asked Ms Smith to marry him in New York City on St Patrick's Day, adding: ""I'm one-fourth Irish".
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Ms Smith, who used to be a police chaplain and is the widow of country music star Chester Smith, previously revealed that she saw her relationship with Mr Murdoch as "a gift from God", the Mail reports.
"'I’m a widow 14 years. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman. Worked for local papers, developed radio and TV stations and helped promote Univision. So I speak Rupert’s language. We share the same beliefs," she said.
Mr Murdoch has six children from three of his four previous marriages, including daughter Prudence MacLeod, 64, with his first wife Patricia Booker.
He also had one daughter - Elisabeth, 53 - and two sons, Lachlan, 50, and James, 49, with his second wife Anna Mann.
Mr Murdoch had two daughters with Wendi Deng - Grace, 21, and Chloe, 19. He did not have any children with Jerry Hall.
