'I knew this would be my last. It better be', Rupert Murdoch getting married again
1 min read 20 Mar 2023, 06:35 PM ISTMurdoch proposed his girlfriend Ann Lesley Smith on 17 March with a Asscher-cut diamond solitaire
PremiumMedia business tycoon Rupert Murdoch is soon going to get married for the fifth time at the age of 92. Just seven months after reaching a divorce settlement with his ex-wife Jerry Hall, Murdoch got engaged to his girlfriend Ann Lesley Smith on Friday.
The New York Post reported that the chairman of News Corp proposed to his bride-to-be on 17 March in New York City with an Asscher-cut diamond solitaire which the almost groom personally selected. “I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy," the New York Post quoted Murdoch as saying.
Ann Lesley Smith is a 66-year-old former San Fran police chaplain, whose late husband Chester Smith was a singer, radio and television executive.
“I’m a widow for 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. 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," Smith told the news platform.
The reports claim that the couple met in September and made their relationship official on Christmas. They were spotted together on holidays and were reportedly also hosted by British billionaire and JCB chairman Anthony Bamford.
“She and her husband also owned a vineyard and had been in the wine business. Last year when there were 200 people at my vineyard, I met her and we talked a bit. Two weeks later I called her," Murdoch on meeting her for the first time.
“We’re both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together," he added, according to New York Post.
This will be Murdoch's fifth marriage and his previous billionaire was previously married to Jerry Hall, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Murdoch Mann, and Patricia Booker.
