It brings a little cheer in a world often bogged down by distressing news, to read about a 93-year-old determined not to abandon his quest for true love. Much like the uplifting close to a television news piece to offset the more grim headlines, one could not help but feel a sense of joy upon reading about this elderly man’s intent to tie the knot at a homely vineyard in California that he himself owns. Yes, this is none other than the rather wealthy Rupert Murdoch.
The response to this news had more of a “You’re kidding, right?” rather than a “Oh, how sweet!” This may be attributed to his reputation as a villainous media tycoon, notorious for diminishing media standards, involvement in phone hacking and union busting activities, as well as heading the controversial Fox News. However, to a lot of people, the image that Murdoch emanates is simply that of a relentless romantic.
The media baron’s attitude towards love is akin to that of your divorced aunt, who constantly propagates love-centric memes on Facebook. His earnest belief remains that one should not compromise on love, mirroring your aunt’s profile picture quote about true love lurking around the corner. Murdoch’s age of 93 raises the question of just how many corners he has left to explore, but he seems hopeful of a few more.
As per Gabriel Sherman from Vanity Fair, Murdoch concluded his previous marriage telling his ex-wife Jerry, “Regrettably, I have made the decision to end our marriage…we’ve definitely had some memorable moments, but I have much ahead to accomplish.” Bold words from a 91-year-old speaking to supermodel Jerry Hall, discussing divorce via email.
True to bell hooks’ saying about courage being a requisite for love—something that Murdoch likely holds dear as a reminder on his phone wallpaper, along with “Live, laugh, love”.
Murdoch’s refusal to let past heartbreaks make him cynical about discovering his soul mate is an inspiration. Despite four broken marriages and at least one dissolved engagement, he remains optimistic about his fifth try. His tenacity is commendable.
If I were flung off a horse four times, my instinct would be to sell the beast rather than endure another fall. Yet, here Murdoch is, fearlessly jumping back onto the horse for a fifth go, relying solely on hope, tenacity and presumably, a compellingly robust prenuptial agreement to soften any prospective hard landing.
This agreement is rumoured to contain a clause that restricts former spouses from feeding personal stories into Succession, the popular series. This might be good news for his betrothed, ex-molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, especially considering that the show wrapped up last year.
Indeed, Zhukova, whose previous husbands include a Russian magnate and who can count both Roman Abramovich and a Greek shipping heir among her sons-in-law, appears more than equipped to handle marrying a man often branded a “menace to climate change”.
Then the inevitable question arises: why even bother getting married? Why not just keep a lady friend? Perhaps for a man raised during the deep 1930s economic downturn, not marrying a woman just doesn’t sit right.
However, his second ex-wife Anna Murdoch Mann suggested in a 2021 interview with the Australian Women’s Weekly, that chivalry might not be high on his list of priorities. As per Anna’s account, the affair between Rupert and Wendi Deng, who later became his third wife, effectively ended their marriage.
In any case, Anna purportedly had the last say. Sources tell us that she cleverly used her divorce settlement to preserve the family trust, preventing later wives or offspring from gaining voting shares. A manoeuvre that, according to some, played a key role in Rupert’s subsequent divorce from Deng.
Despite all this, we can only hope that things turn out bright for the love-struck 93-year-old.
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