ALISON BOSHOFF: Will Rupert Murdoch's six children welcome their latest ... trends now
So billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch is to marry Ann Lesley Smith, a former police chaplain from California. The happy couple, planning a summer wedding aged 92 and 66, say their romance is a 'gift from God'.
It will be her third time down the aisle and his fifth.
Breaking the news just seven months after his divorce from Jerry Hall, Murdoch says that he and his fiancee are looking forward to 'spending the second half of our lives together'.
Of course, this rather optimistic statement anticipates a longevity which would be more extraordinary than anything else in his already extraordinary life story. But this new romance has clearly left him feeling younger than springtime.
His intended, a widowed radio personality and vineyard owner, adds that they share beliefs and life experiences.
Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch is to marry Ann Lesley Smith, a former police chaplain from California. Pictured: The couple holding hands in LA earlier this year
Murdoch and Smith say their romance is a 'gift from God' but will his six children see it the same way, asks Alison Boshoff. Pictured: Murdoch with his fiancee in Barbados in January
'In perspective, it's not my first rodeo,' says Ann Lesley. 'Getting near 70 means being in the last half. I waited for the right time. Friends are happy for me.'
Naturally there will be much rejoicing over the forthcoming nuptials.
Guests at the Murdoch-Smith wedding will include world leaders and other titans of the business world. He owns a portfolio of national and international newspapers, after all, including The Wall Street Journal and New York Post in the US, The Sun and The Times in the UK, plus the book publisher Harper Collins.
Members of Murdoch's large family will also be present: He has six children, including four daughters – Prudence, 64, Elisabeth, 54, Grace, 21, Chloe, 19. Eldest son Lachlan, 51, is his heir apparent and has been running his businesses with him since 2014. Son James, 50, resigned from the board of News Corp in 2020 after 'disagreements' about editorial content.
As we shall see, the question of what they make of this turn of events is a story which has yet to be written.
When it comes to the event itself, the smart money is on a sunset ceremony at the Moraga vineyard in Bel Air, which is owned by Murdoch. It was where they first met, at a wine 'mixer' in September 2022. Here, Ann Lesley was introduced to the newly single billionaire, and he waited a fortnight before asking to see her again.
Who would have suspected that Murdoch would be such an eternal romantic as to pop the question so soon after ending his six-year marriage to Jerry Hall – and paying her around £30million?
I'm told Jerry is still weeping into her coffee as she contemplates the ashes of their love story – and that was before her ex announced he was going to marry again. She's been quietly spending time with her four children by Sir Mick Jagger, including a Christmas break in Mustique with the Rolling Stone and all his progeny.
Guests at the Murdoch-Smith wedding will include world leaders and other titans of the business world. Pictured: Smith in the Caribbean
The Texan beauty was certain it was for ever, and blames Murdoch's adult children – executives in his empire – for driving a wedge between them. Her friends insist that his children had a suspicious eye on efforts to revise the pre-nup in her favour, and that a to-and-fro about Jerry's legal deal in the event of Murdoch's death sparked their split.
Once again, events in the Murdoch family are putting the imagined dramas of Succession's Roy dynasty in the shade. (Incidentally the hit TV show, created by Brit Jesse Armstrong, returns for its fourth and final outing on Monday on Sky.)
As to why on earth, aged 92, he would contemplate yet another marriage, sources close to Murdoch indicate that he is as moral as a choirboy when it comes to romance, and doesn't believe much in sex outside marriage.
The role of his Christian faith was noted in a well-sourced diary item published on the American news website The Daily Beast in February, which predicted an imminent engagement. Murdoch proposed soon afterwards, on Friday, March 17, with an Asscher cut diamond, while the couple were in New York.
He told Cindy Adams, the gossip columnist for his newspaper the New York Post: 'I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love – but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I'm happy.'
Born in 1957, his new bride is a wealthy woman in her own right thanks to a three-year marriage to a much older man who was worth at least $50million (£40million).
She's a forthright and sparky soul who loves dogs, fast cars, wine and Jesus – and she is suspicious of politicians and the liberal elite. In her, Murdoch has found another strong woman whom he can respect.
His first wife,
