‘I dreaded falling in love’: Rupert Murdoch engaged, prepares for fifth marriage

Billionaire media owner Rupert Murdoch is engaged to his new girlfriend, Ann Lesley Smith, less than a year after his divorce from fourth wife Jerry Hall.

The 92-year-old Australian-born mogul told the New York Post, one of his own newspapers, that he had proposed to Smith, 66, with an Asscher cut diamond solitaire ring that he personally selected.

Murdoch, who owns titles including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, the Herald Sun, as well as The Times in the UK and Fox News in the US, said he was “very nervous” about popping the question again after four previous marriages, but insisted this wedding would be his last.

“I dreaded falling in love – but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy,” he said.

Murdoch met Smith, a former San Francisco police chaplain, six months ago after his divorce from Hall was finalised.

In January, pictures were released of the couple in Barbados.

He proposed in New York on St Patrick’s Day. The couple will divide their time between the UK, California, New York and Montana after the wedding which is expected to take place in the northern summer.

“We’re both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together,” he said.

Smith said her late husband, Chester, a former country singer and broadcaster, had worked for local papers, developed radio and TV stations and helped promote Univision, a Spanish-language TV network.

Murdoch’s nuptials are unlikely to change the ownership structure of businesses in which he holds stakes, including Fox Corp, the parent company of Fox News Channel, and News Corp.

Murdoch controls News Corp and Fox Corp through a Reno, Nevada-based family trust that holds roughly a 40 per cent stake in voting shares of each company.

Fox is currently defending itself in a $US1.6 billion ($1.4 billion) defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems.

Dominion has accused the cable TV network of amplifying debunked claims that Dominion voting machines were used to rig the 2020 US presidential election against Republican Donald Trump and in favour of his rival Joe Biden, who won.

Fox has defended its coverage, arguing claims by Trump and his lawyers were inherently newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Staff reporter with Reuters

“So I speak Rupert’s language. We share the same beliefs,” she said.

“In perspective, it’s not my first rodeo. Getting near 70 means being in the last half. I waited for the right time. Friends are happy for me.”

Staff reporter

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