The song says, “depending on how the wind blows, even feelings change”.
In other words, wedding bells are no longer ringing for Rupert Murdoch, 92 years old. They were silent before they started ringing.
After announcing just a couple of weeks ago that he would celebrate his fifth wedding this summer, and that the chosen one was Ann Lesley Smith, 66, US media reported on Tuesday that the media mogul he has reconsidered and backed down.
The exclusive of their marriage, which was to be celebrated in the summer, was published to great fanfare by the New York Post, the tabloid that is part of his long list of properties, including The Wall Street Journal and the Fox network. The scoop went around the world.
The breakup of the engagement, which has also had a big impact, was brought forward by Vanity Fair. This magazine, which described the resignation as “abrupt”, noted that a spokesman for Murdoch refused to comment on the matter. In any case, confirmation of its veracity could be certified in the New York Post: not a word on the subject, not a response to the publication.
“The breakup ends a whirlwind romance”, pointed out Vanity Fair. The two met last September. In January they appeared photographed together on holiday in Barbados. In mid-March the wedding was announced. A few days later, Murdoch presented Ann Lesley with an eleven-carat engagement diamond, valued at $2.5 million.
However, this new marriage plan, which would have taken place a year after Murdoch divorced actress and model Jerry Hall, was not well received in his family. According to the aforementioned magazine, the scrutiny on Ann Lesley, widow since 2008 of Chester Smith, country singer and businessman, revealed things that have scared the boyfriend.
Among other things, he was increasingly uncomfortable with the religious considerations of the pledge. After a first divorce with a rich Californian, she was left on the street, she became another homeless person, without receiving anything for the prenuptial agreement she had signed. She even had suicidal thoughts, but, as she has revealed, she found Christ and saved her.
Not long ago, Murdoch assured that, with Ann Lesley, “we are both anxious to spend the second half of our lives together”.
Words, like messes, are carried away by the wind.
