Rupert Murdoch is engaged — again.
The 92-year-old billionaire announced, via an interview The New York Post, that he will wed Ann Lesley Smith, the former San Francisco Police chaplain who is 26 years his junior.
Murdoch divorced Jerry Hall, his fourth wife, last August. Speaking of his new love, he told the Post’s Cindy Adams: “I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy.”
Murdoch said he nervously popped the question on St. Patrick’s Day in New York last week, adoring Smith’s finger with an Asscher-cut diamond engagement ring. They will marry in late summer.
He told the Post that they met at his vineyard Moraga in Bel Air, California. Smith’s late husband Chester Smith, the country singer, also owned a vineyard, so the pair hit it off discussing wine.
“We’re both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together,” said Murdoch, who plans to split his time with his new wife between California, the UK, Montana, and New York.
Smith said: “For us both it’s a gift from God. We met last September. I’m a widow 14 years. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman. Worked for local papers, developed radio and TV stations and helped promote Univision. So I speak Rupert’s language. We share the same beliefs.
“In perspective, it’s not my first rodeo. Getting near 70 means being in the last half. I waited for the right time. Friends are happy for me.”
More follows.