Rupert Murdoch is reportedly getting ready to propose to his girlfriend, Ann-Lesley Smith.
The media mogul has been married four times in the past and is set to make Smith his fifth wife as he’s allegedly moved her into a new and bigger apartment.
Murdoch was previously married to model Jerry Hall from 2016 until their divorce was finalized in July of last year. According to reports, Hall had issues with the billionaire’s four eldest children.
Read on for more details.
Rupert Murdoch Is Ready To Pop The Question To His Girlfriend
According to Radar Online, the media mogul is ready to ask his girlfriend, Ann-Lesley Smith, to marry him. Per the news outlet, Murdoch has moved Smith into a new $30 Million, 6,500 square foot apartment, seven-bedroom mansion, and is ready to make her his fifth wife.
The way things are moving fast between the pair has made Murdoch’s close pals conclude he is preparing to pop the question.
A source told the news outlet, “Expect an announcement soon.” The billionaire’s girlfriend was previously married to country music star Chester Smith. He died as a result of a heart attack at age 78.
Rupert Murdoch And Ann-Lesley Smith Were First Spotted In Barbados
The media baron first sparked dating rumors with Smith when they were seen soaking up the sun in Barbados last January. According to the Daily Mail, they were being hosted by British billionaire Anthony Bamford, the chairman of JCB, at the Caribbean getaway.
Smith, 66, was spotted rocking a yellow halterneck bikini and adorned it with a large crucifix pendant necklace. She’s the widow of US country musician and business entrepreneur Chester Smith, with whom she recorded the album “Captured By Love.”
The news outlet claims that Smith and Murdoch first connected in November before making their public debut as a couple at a Christmas dinner at his house.
He Has Been Married Four Times
The 91-year-old billionaire was previously married four times, with his divorce from his fourth wife, Jerry Hall, being finalized in July of last year.
He was first married in 1956 to Patricia Booker, a former flight attendant with whom he shares his first child, Prudence. They got divorced in 1967.
The media mogul later got married to Anna Torv, a Scottish-born cadet journalist working for his Sydney newspaper, in 1967. The pair separated in 1998.
Murdoch married his third wife, Wendi Deng, in June 1999. He shares two daughters with her, Grace and Chloe. He was reported to have filed for a divorce from her in 2013.
In 2016, he got engaged to former model Jerry Hall, but they ended up separating in 2022 after she filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences” per The Blast.
Murdoch reportedly ended their relationship via email, telling her to get to him through his lawyers.
Rupert Murdoch’s Kids May Have Strained Their Relationship
According to Radar, Murdoch had made hall sign a prenup before they got married. An insider told the news outlet at the time, “there’s too much at stake, so Rupert had Hall agree to prenuptial provisions when they married.”
“These conditions ensured that in the event of divorce, she would receive a settlement that would not allow her to interfere with the line of succession in his media empire, and protect the family fortune,” the source added.
The split in the marriage reportedly started during the pandemic, after it was reported that Hall took up a “gatekeeping” role in Murdoch’s life.
“His family thought that Jerry was keeping them from him,” a source revealed, per Radar. “She does blame the children for souring the marriage. They had a lot to say about it and a role in his personal life.”
“Jerry is truly devastated by what has happened and insists that it was all a bolt from the blue,” the source added, claiming, “She has been hurt by suggestions that she was only in it for the money.”
Hall reportedly had a stringent relationship with four of Murdoch’s eldest children.
