Reports emerged this week stating that media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s engagement with conservative talk show host Ann Lesley Smith had terminated.
According to Vanity Fair, sources close to 92-year-old Murdoch said that he and Smith broke off their engagement unexpectedly.
After spending some quality time with Smith on vacation in Barbados, the pair announced their engagement in March. On St. Patrick’s Day, he proposed to her in New York, and a few days later, the news appeared in his newspaper, the New York Post.
According to the rumor mill, Murdoch presented Smith with an Asscher-cut 11-carat diamond ring valued at three million dollars.
Reports suggest Murdoch gave Smith the 11-carat diamond, and the relationship deteriorated when the media started digging into Smith’s history. After her first marriage to John B. Huntington ended because of alleged abuse, Smith embraced Jesus and became a preacher in California.
In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Smith said that you would succeed if you give your life up to the Lord. Vanity Fair cited what she had previously told CBN.
According to a report, at least one insider claims that Smith’s vocal Evangelical views have made Murdoch uneasy.
Ann has worked as a Christian preacher for both the Manteca Police Dept and the Marin Sheriff’s Office of Marin County in California, as well as in the modeling and radio industries.
The BBC pointed out that Murdoch had gone through four marriages and produced six children over his first three wives. When asked about his future with Smith, he had indicated they were excited about the latter part of their lives.
Prior to this engagement, Murdoch was married to Patricia Booker, Jerry Hall, Wendi Deng, and Anna Torv. He is a father of six children.
Of his now-canceled Summer wedding plans, Murdoch said he was quite anxious. He didn’t want to fall in love again but knew it would be his final chance.
