04 April 2023 , 17:37
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Rupert Murdoch has called off his engagement, just two weeks after making the announcement that he was due to be married, again.
According to the US magazine Vanity Fair, sources close to the 92-year-old media mogul said he and Ann Lesley Smith had "abruptly" called off the ceremony.
It was claimed Mr Murdoch had grown alarmed by his bride-to-be’s evangelical views.
The wedding, which the couple said was to take place in the summer, would have been the billionaire’s fifth.
He was previously married to Jerry Hall, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Murdoch Mann, and Patricia Booker.
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In revealing their plans to marry two weeks ago, Smith, 66, gushed about how compatible the couple are saying she “speaks Rupert's language” adding the relationship was “not her first rodeo”.
Rupert and Ann Lesley have reportedly called off their engagement (Diggzy/Jesal / SplashNews.com)
Rupert Murdoch was thought to be set to tie the knot for a fifth time
The businessman said he proposed to the former police chaplain with an Asscher-cut diamond solitaire on St. Patrick’s Day.
“I was very nervous,” Mr Murdoch said.
“I dreaded falling in love - but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy.”
Rupert Murdoch is said to have called off his engagement (AFP via Getty Images)Murdoch, who is worth £13.9 billion, has six children.
They include daughter Prudence MacLeod with his first wife Patricia Booker, daughter Elisabeth and sons Lachlan and James with his second souse Anna Mann, and daughter Chloe and Grace, who he shares with his third wife, Wendi Deng.
A spokesperson for Mr Murdoch declined to comment.
Their whirlwind romance generated headlines in January as the pair were snapped on holiday in Barbados.
Reports suggested the pair were set to move in together in a $30million property.
He had been dating the 66-year-old former dental hygienist for almost a year (AFP via Getty Images)Rupert and Ann Lesley met in September 2022 at his Moraga vineyard in California with the media man later phoning his new fiancée just two weeks later.
Ann Lesley previously called their relationship a "gift from God," adding the pair had the same beliefs as each other.
She was seen last week wearing an 11-carat diamond engagement ring which was estimated to be worth approximately $2.5million.