Rupert Murdoch's engagement abruptly called off - US media

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and ex-police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith have abruptly called off their engagement weeks after announcing it, reports say.

Vanity Fair quotes a source close to Mr Murdock, 92, as saying he had become uncomfortable with what were described as the outspoken evangelical views of Ms Smith, 66.

Mr Murdoch, who split with fourth wife Jerry Hall in 2022, is yet to comment.

But his engagement with Ms Smith was announced only last month.

The two met in September at an event at his vineyard in California.

Mr Murdoch, the Australian-born US magnate, added that he proposed to Ms Smith on St Patrick's Day (17 March), noting that he was "one fourth Irish" and had been "very nervous".

Ms Smith's late husband was Chester Smith, a country singer and radio and TV executive.

"For us both it's a gift from God. We met last September," she told the New York Post after the engagement announcement.

"I'm a widow of 14 years. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman... so I speak Rupert's language. We share the same beliefs."

Mr Murdoch, who has six children from his first three marriages, added at the time: "We're both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together."

The wedding was expected to take place in late summer, and the couple had been hoping to spend their between California, Montana, New York and the UK.

Mr Murdoch was previously married to Australian flight attendant Patricia Booker, Scottish-born journalist Anna Mann, and Chinese-born entrepreneur Wendi Deng.