Ann Lesley Smith, Rupert Murdoch’s new wife, is from San Francisco. Murdoch’s life took an interesting turn when he recently became engaged to 66-year-old Ann Lesley Smith.
After a short stint after splitting from Jerry Hall, the 84-year-old media mogul and business mogul is about to tie the knot with Smith, who he reportedly first met nearly two decades ago when she became friends and chaplain to his adult children.
While it may seem surprising that Murdoch and Smith made this bold move, it’s heartwarming news as they share a bond that has matured over time.
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Murdoch first met Smith in September 2022 at a 200-person gathering at his Moraga winery in Bel Air, California.
The businessman revealed, “I was afraid of falling in love, but I knew it would be my last. Better off. I’m happy.”
He proposed to Ann on St. Patrick’s Day, noting that he was “one-fourth Irish” and had been “really nervous”.
The couple plans to get married in the summer. Add Murdoched, “We are both excited to spend the second half of our lives together.
Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul whose business empire spans from Fox News in the US to influential tabloid The Sun in the UK, is gearing up to tie the knot for a fifth time.
The wedding will take place in late summer and the couple will spend their time between California, Montana, New York and the UK.
Rupert Murdoch’s Past Marriages
Rupert Murdoch’s life is filled with many personal and professional milestones, including two marriages.
After meeting in Australia in 1956 and marrying the same year, he and his first wife Patricia Booker had a daughter, Prudence.
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However, the marriage only lasted 11 years; it dissolved in 1967 when Murdoch married former journalist Anna Torv who worked at The Daily Telegraph.
Together they had three children – Elisabeth, Lachlan and James – but the couple called it quits in 1999 after 32 years together.
In 1999, Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng made headlines when their whirlwind marriage was finalized just three weeks after Murdoch’s divorce from his ex-wife Anna Torv.
Reports suggest that the couple first met in 1997, when Deng was an intern at a Hong Kong TV station owned by Murdoch’s News Corp.
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Nine years later, their union had produced two daughters: Grace and Chloe. But in 2013, it was all undone when Murdoch filed for divorce from Deng.
What the future holds for Rupert Murdoch remains to be seen, but the announcement of his previous divorce certainly sent shockwaves through the international media.
The ultra-glamorous Jerry Hall was famous in the ’70s and ’80s. When she began a romantic relationship with business mogul Rupert Murdoch in 2015, it certainly drew a lot of attention.
Less than two years later, the couple decided to tie the knot at Longs St. Bride’s Church. This wasn’t their first serious relationship either; Hall famously dated Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, with whom she shares four children.
Following their marriage in 2016, Hall and Murdoch dissolved the union after 6 years due to infidelity on Murdoch’s part. Interestingly, this is Murdoch’s fourth divorce, making him the father of a total of six children from all of his previous marriages.
Murdoch is not only an established businessman, but also one of global significance. Murdoch is famous for his holding company News Corporation, which owns such channels as Fox News across America and The Sun tabloid in Britain.
Rupert Murdoch New wife-to-be, Ann Lesley Smith
Ann Lesley Smith is an American journalist. Before leaving the field to work as a Christian minister in the prison ministry, she was a journalist who broadcast her radio program Ann Lesley Live in the US.
After some time, Ann returned to her career in journalism and began working for one of Rupert Murdoch’s magazines.
Ann Lesley Smith was a former police chaplain who lived in San Francisco before meeting Rupert Murdoch.
Given their shared past and belief that marriage is a “gift from God,” it may make perfect sense that Ann and Rupert met and fell in love.
Previous relationships of Ann Lesley Smith
She was previously married to John B. Huntington, a lawyer from a prominent California railroad family.
The 66-year-old groom, who previously admitted to The Christian Broadcasting Network that drinking made him a “different person”, claims Ann Lesley and John’s marriage was tumultuous.
The former dental hygienist claimed that her abuser “physically, mentally and emotionally abused” her.
During the couple’s difficult divorce, Ann Lesley went through a rough patch when she thought about committing. She was abandoned and now depends on help.
She continued that it got so bad that I wanted to end my life. In the difficult days after this divorce, she came into contact with religion. She then began serving as a volunteer police pastor.
According to The Modesto Bee, she met her future husband, Chester, at this job and learned about a new career as a radio DJ.
In his 2008 obituary, she was referred to as Chester’s “loving wife”, indicating that she had a happy second marriage.
They collaborated on the 2005 album Captured By Love, although it is unknown how long they were married at the time of his death.
The fascinating highs and lows of Ann Lesley as she prepares for her third journey to the altar and eventually becoming Rupert’s fifth wife.
