Why did Rupert Murdoch divorce Jerry Hall
Why did Rupert Murdoch divorce Jerry Hall – In a shocking turn of events, media mogul Rupert Murdoch reportedly ended his marriage to Jerry Hall via email. The 92-year-old billionaire’s email left Hall stunned and devastated. This unexpected breakup came in June 2022, and it marked the end of Murdoch’s fourth marriage. The email, according to sources, read, “Jerry, sadly I’ve decided to call an end to our marriage. We have certainly had some good times, but I have much to do … My New York lawyer will be contacting yours immediately.”
Rupert Murdoch divorce Jerry Hall
This sudden separation gained widespread attention, and it was revealed by journalist Gabriel Sherman, who has extensively covered the Murdoch family’s business affairs. In an article for Vanity Fair, Sherman detailed the contents of the email, shedding light on the breakup’s aftermath. While the couple publicly maintained their friendship after the divorce, friends of Jerry Hall disclosed that she was left “devastated, mad, and humiliated.” She had cared for Murdoch during his health struggles and had been in isolation with him throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
One startling revelation was that, on the first day of Lent in February, Hall shared with friends her symbolic act of burning an effigy of Murdoch, complete with dental floss around its neck, on a grill.
The divorce settlement also brought some intriguing clauses. For instance, it reportedly prohibited Hall from providing plot suggestions to the writers of the TV show “Succession,” which draws heavy inspiration from the Murdoch family’s internal dynamics. There were even hints that Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, believed his brother, James, might have been in touch with the show’s creators.
Much like the fictional patriarch, Logan Roy, in “Succession,” Murdoch’s four children from his first two marriages are vying for control of the family business when he eventually steps down. Lachlan, who is already deeply involved in the family company, faces potential competition from siblings James, Elisabeth, and Prudence, who have either distanced themselves from the business or maintain minimal involvement.
Beyond the personal drama, the Vanity Fair article delved into Murdoch’s ailing health. It described how Jerry Hall had nursed him back to health after he suffered a severe back injury in a yacht fall in January 2018, an incident that brought him perilously close to death.
Following the accident, Murdoch was evacuated from the yacht to the French territory of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. However, there was no open hospital, and he had to spend the night on a gurney under a tent in a parking lot until a specialized medical team could arrive.
During the examination of an X-ray of his back, doctors inquired about previously broken vertebrae. Murdoch attributed these injuries to an altercation with his third wife, Wendi Deng, alleging that she had pushed him into a piano during a fight.
While facing these personal challenges, Murdoch’s business empire was also encountering turbulence. In 2019, he sold the majority of his entertainment businesses, including Sky in the UK and 21st Century Fox in the US, to rival media companies. He retained a scaled-down portfolio of companies, including the US-based Fox network, HarperCollins book publisher, and several newspapers such as The Times, The Sun, and The Wall Street Journal. His attempts to reunite the empire, which had been split as a result of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, were abandoned.
One of Murdoch’s most pressing business issues was Fox News, which faced a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. The lawsuit stemmed from Fox News promoting former President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 US presidential election had been stolen. The trial, with jury selection, was set to commence, following months of revelations regarding internal correspondence within Fox News.
In the UK, ongoing phone-hacking cases, including allegations from Prince Harry about illegal activity at The Sun under Rebekah Brooks’s leadership, continued to result in substantial financial and reputational damages for Murdoch’s media empire.
Personal life
In his personal life, Rupert Murdoch’s engagement to conservative radio host Ann Lesley Smith ended just two weeks after it was announced in his own New York Post tabloid. The engagement had initially been described as a joyful commitment to spending the “second half of our lives together,” accompanied by a $2 million engagement ring. However, by early April, the engagement was terminated, reportedly due to discomfort arising from Smith’s evangelical religious views.
In summary, Rupert Murdoch’s divorce from Jerry Hall by email in June 2022 marked the end of his fourth marriage, leaving Hall devastated. The divorce came after Hall had cared for Murdoch through health crises, including a life-threatening back injury. The Vanity Fair article on the subject revealed intriguing details, including clauses in the divorce settlement and family dynamics resembling those depicted in the TV show “Succession.” Murdoch’s business empire also faced significant challenges, particularly regarding Fox News and ongoing phone-hacking cases. In his personal life, his engagement to Ann Lesley Smith ended swiftly, raising questions about the nature of the relationship. This high-profile divorce and its aftermath offer a glimpse into the complex and sometimes tumultuous life of media magnate Rupert Murdoch.
What happened with Jerry Hall and Murdoch?
Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch got divorced within months of each other. Even though they publicly said they were still good friends, friends of Jerry Hall revealed that she was actually very upset. She had to take care of Murdoch when he had health problems, and they were isolated together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why have Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch split?
It seems that their relationship started to fall apart during the long lockdowns caused by the pandemic. Many sources say that Jerry Hall had disagreements with Murdoch’s children from his previous marriages.
Why did Rupert Murdoch leave his first wife?
Rupert Murdoch and his first wife got divorced in 2014, and they have two children together, Grace and Chloe. The reason for their divorce was that their marriage had been falling apart for over six months, and they couldn’t fix it.
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