The Wedding's off for Billionaire Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith

It's a plot twist for billionaire and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 92, as he reportedly called off his engagement with Ann Lesley Smith, 66, just two weeks after announcing their engagement on St. Patrick's Day. According to People, the couple planned on having a gorgeous late summer wedding in March.

However, due to Smith's evangelical beliefs, Murdoch grew rather uncomfortable with the situation which led to some turbulence in their relationship, and they decided to call it quits. Murdoch's representatives produced no comment on the matter. Viewers were left shocked as "it didn't last long" at all and a few even expected the engagement to have been called off.

At the time of their engagement, the New York Post had reported that Murdoch was very excited and nervous to propose to his girlfriend. He gave her an Asscher-cut solitaire diamond ring that he'd chosen himself and was very happy after she said yes. Rupert claimed this was the last time he'd get to experience and fall in love with someone. He first met Smith shortly after finalizing his divorce from his fourth wife Jerry Hall last year.

The pair came across each other in the billionaire's vineyard, and as Murdoch quotes "Last year when there was 200 people at my vineyard, I met her and we talked a bit. Two weeks later I called her." This was followed by the news of their engagement shortly after. 

Smith's response prior to splitting up was that she "spoke Rupert's language" and that they shared "similar beliefs"  which meant that she really did understand him as a person majorly because of her previous marriage to late country singer Chester Smith, who was also in the media biz like Murdoch. She considered her relationship and understanding with Murdoch to be a gift from God and was quite thankful for it.

Prior to his engagement with Ann Leslie Smith, Rupert has married a total of 4 times. His first wife was Patricia Booker whom he married in 1957 and was with for 9 years after which he divorced her in 1967. In the same year, he married his second wife Anna Maria Torv. They divorced in 1999, and Murdoch married Wendy Deng from whom he split in 2013. Finally, he married supermodel Jerry Hall in the year 2016, which was his 4th marriage that lasted for 6 years after which they filed for divorce in 2022. He has 6 children from his previous marriages.

Rupert Murdoch is presently the CEO of News Crop and is a global ambassador, media mogul, and billionaire with an empire in Fox News, Wall Street Journal, and many more successful media hubs that span across the world, and according to Forbes magazine, Murdoch is believed to have a total net worth of $17 billion.