Rupert Murdoch, Ann Lesley Smith call off their engagement, no big billionaire wedding this summer

New Delhi: Media mogul and the owner of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith have called off their engagement. The announcement came just a few weeks after the couple shared the news that they will be tying the knot. Vanity Fair was the first one to report the ‘calling off’ of their engagement.

Rupert Murdoch, 92 and former dental hygienist and radio journalist Ann Lesley Smith were spotted vacationing together on the Caribbean island of Barbados. The news of their engagement was shared by Cindy Adams, who is a columnist for Murdoch’s New York Post tabloid.

Murdoch told Adams that he dreaded falling in love but knew this will be his last and he is happy. He added they were looking forward to spending their lives together. Ann Lesley Smith called her relationship with Murdoch a ‘gift of God’. Murdoch admitted being anxious while he proposed to Smith on St Patrick’s Day.

The two were set to marry this summer, but have called off their engagement which took place last month. The reason behind calling off the engagement is not known as of now. Their engagement created a lot of buzz in the media and on the internet dur to their popularity and the age difference.

This would have been the fifth marriage for the Australian businessman, who divorced Jerry Faye Hall in 2022. He has previously divorced Wendi Deng in 2013, Anna Maria Torv in 1999 and Patricia Booker in 1967.

Ann Lesley Smith was previously married to the late country singer Chester Smith.