Rupert Murdoch’s split from fiance shows true love is DEAD

Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith have abruptly called off their engagement — just two weeks after they announced their plans to marry.

The 92-year-old media baron proposed last month to the former dental hygienist, 66, with an 11-carat diamond ring thought to be worth up to AUD 3.7 million.

Describing their whirlwind romance as a “gift from God”, the couple said they planned to wed in the late summer.

But the engagement was abruptly called off last night after the pair reluctantly came to a “mutual decision” to part ways.

A friend close to the couple said Ms Smith had struggled with the publicity.

“She just could not cope with being in the public eye. She is very private,” they said.

“They sat down and talked on Monday and agreed it was better for them to part.

“He accepts that he will always be in the public eye and there is nothing he can or would do to change that.”

The Mail understands that ending the engagement was a mutual decision and one of great regret for both sides.

Another friend told the Mail that the billionaire remains fond of Ms Smith despite their decision to split.

“He admires her, respects her and thinks she is an amazing woman. He loves the fact she is so calm and so strong . . . and she shares his religious convictions,” they said.

Ms Smith was introduced to the newly-single billionaire in September at a wine event at his Moraga vineyard in California.

He waited a fortnight before asking to see her again.

Six months later he picked out an Asscher-cut diamond solitaire, which he presented to Ms Smith on March 17.

The couple announced the engagement three days later with Murdoch, said to be worth AUD 25 billion.

“I was very nervous. I dreaded falling in love — but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I’m happy,” he told his newspaper the New York Post at the time.

“For us both it’s a gift from God. We met last September. I’m a widow for 14 years,” Ms Smith added.

“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.”

It emerged last month that Ms Smith, who also owns a vineyard, had been in a dispute with the family of her wealthy late husband, country music star Chester Smith.

She was accused of “elder financial abuse” and withholding inheritance money from her three stepdaughters. She denied the allegations and the matter was settled in 2010.

The cancelled wedding would have been Murdoch’s fifth. His last marriage to supermodel Jerry Hall ended abruptly after six years in July last year.

Before that, he married media executive Wendi Deng, with whom he has daughters Grace and Chloe.

He was also married to journalist Anna Torv from 1967 to 1999. They had three children — Elisabeth, James and Lachlan.

Before that, he was married to flight attendant Patricia Booker, with whom he had a daughter, Prudence.