Well, this is very strange development in the tale of Rupert Murdoch’s love life. Only two years ago, Wendi Deng Murdoch was singlehandedly defending her man from shaving cream pies as he testified before the British Parliament and duly earning herself the nickname of “tiger wife.” Now it’s all come to a very swift and unexpected end. That is, Rupert has filed for divorce from Wendi in New York court.
This will be the third divorce for Rupert (82) and and the second one for Wendi (44). These two crazy kids met in 1997 and were married two years later immediately after Rupert divorced his then wife, Anna Maria Torv Murdoch. Anna Maria received a $1.7 billion settlement, making it the “most expensive” divorce at the time. Hopefully, Wendi will grab herself a big settlement as well. I would think that being married to an a-hole like Rupert is an entirely demanding job in and of itself. Here’s the exclusive lowdown on the divorce filing from Deadline:
News Corp Chairman/CEO Rupert Murdoch filed for divorce from wife Wendi Deng Murdoch this morning in New York State Supreme Court, Deadline learned at 9 AM. The divorce will not impact Rupert Murdoch’s mega-media holdings, according to insiders, and was deliberately announced for maximum transparency before News Corp spins off its publishing assets into a separately traded company by June 28th. (Murdoch will control both of these entities.) Today’s news comes despite numerous denials for months by PR man Steven Rubenstein and News Corp PR woman Julie Henderson to me as recently as April and May. (“We get this phone call once every 3-6 months,” Rubenstein and Henderson said at the time, pointing to the fact that Wendi and Rupert had recently hosted a dinner at their home for Oscar-winning Twentieth Century Fox director Ang Lee and were going away together on Spring Break.) But legal sources insisted to Deadline that the Murdochs’ divorce was being planned at the same time that a change in Wendi’s behavior towards Rupert was observed during the Academy Awards in February and after. “She was snippy with him during Oscar weekend, and she’s really impatient with him these days,” a source told Deadline then. I received a call from an insider telling me, “Now I’m hearing it might be true. Call me,” On the heels of that, for the first time, not even Murdoch’s reps were denying yet another rift between Rupert and Wendi, saying to me there had been marriage trouble but stressing “it feels like its past whatever that was.” A source who had dinner with them shortly after in NYC told me they were “fine. They’re two people who move a lot in different directions. I don’t know if it’s the marriage I’d want.” But another insider acknowledged to me, “I can’t say it might not be true that they’ll divorce. They have ups and downs. Right now it feels to me, having spent time with them, that they’re in a good place.” There is no question that despite divorce clouds Murdoch’s #1 priority was the News Corp split, not his from Wendi’s, and ””o get it done and get it done right. So he’s had a lot on his plate. What was once one is now two,” an insider explained to me at the time. “The company is so big, so diverse, so complex, and now he has to recalibrate and reaggregate these businesses while the Street determines their true value.” Today I’m told by insiders that, at that time, there were still no divorce proceedings underway so the denials were issued in good faith. “The divorce happened very quickly,” an insider told me today without details.
[From Deadline]
I guess rescuing one’s husband from a pie in the face doesn’t carry as much weight as previously thought. Will Rupert ever marry again? Who knows. He might already have a side piece lined up since he had Wendi lined up when he went through his second divorce. Wendi will be fine financially even without a huge settlement since she has her own production company and plenty of rich friends like David Geffen and Nicole Kidman in her social circle. She’s still gorgeous enough to nab another rich guy if she wants to do that too. It sounds like Wendi and Rupert were leading separate lives at the end, and I’m sure she’s probably relieved to be rid of the cranky old fart.
Photos courtesy of WENN
That’s surprising news. I wonder if she ever got her kids the same stake in News Corp that Rupert’s children with Elizabeth have? I forget how that panned out. If she didn’t I can’t imagine she’s happy.
Most of Wendi’s big name friends are actually Rupert’s friends (or family friends eg. Nicole is very tight with Rupert’s son Lachlan and his wife). She certainly has her own career and ambition, but she also purposefully tied that to Rupert and News Corp. so she’s going to have to try a new approach now. Should be interesting.
I read at Daily Mail last night that Wendi has no voting stock in News Corp and though their two daughters have financial shares in the family trust, they do not have voting shares, unlike Murdoch’s older children by his previous wives. They’re the one that have the holding rights.
Murdoch said in an interview that their 2 daughters would be on a level footing in terms of the family’s economic trust with his children from his previous marriages, but they would not have the same voting rights. And yup, Wendi definitely NOT happy about it I’m sure.
Apparently that was part of the divorce settlement with wife no. 2. That kids from any future relationships would not be able to take over the company that had been promised to the older kids. I assume she took a cut in her settlement (or signed over her shares) to secure the future of her kids. But then, if you got 1.7 billion and also secured the future of your kids, could you imagine what as could have gotten if she didn’t make those demands?
There were rumours floating around that Wendi was pissed that her kids would not get the same say in the company – and that Rupert very publicly stated it in the media a few years back. She assumed she could talk / convince him to change things and give her kids his share of the company when he stepped down to get around the divorce arrangement but Rupert’s public statement made it clear that it was never going to happen.
@birdy
If this is true, I just LOVE wife no. 2! Not only did she make sure that Wendi Deng didn’t get what she wanted (probably Wendi’s reason for marrying Murdoch in the first place), she also set the stage for a future divorce between Wendi Deng and Rupert Murdoch. Wife no. 2 knows how to play the game and she got Wendi Deng right where it hurt. Wendi Deng messed with the wrong woman.
While one can’t deny the element of trophy-dom to their marriage just based on a visual examination of these pictures alone, I don’t think it’s fair to call Wendi a trophy wife. She was a successful businesswoman before she met Murdoch, and I believe maintained many of these interests after their marriage.
But he is so much older than her it grosses me out, and she’s probably better off without the old crank. Feel sort of sorry for the kids, though.
+1
I originally thought, “trohpy wife” and was then surprised to read she is 44 and a business woman in her own right. She looks great for 44! She’ll be fine.
It’s funny to hear that people think she looks great for her age. I’m Asian and in my parents’ circle, they think she’s 10 years older IRL and I agree.
She’s not innocent. You should read how she landed her first husband. She’s an a-hole too.
i know hey..i’ve read about her life and she is a gold digging beeeyatch of note.
She’s no angel judging by her past. One thing for sure, she’s VERY smart and ambitious!!!!
She is a notorious piece of work. But, obviously good at it. She’s also an in-progress-man-trader, so there is someone in the wings that may be more suitable to her current social/business/political ambitions.
And Tony Blair had to deny that his is having an affair with her today, curiouser and curiouser!
Murdoch is a first class A-hole but you are letting “trophy wife” Wen-Di off WAY too lightly. She is so much more than that — a Class A scheming, golddigging, homewrecking, child-alienating climber that puts other top contenders like Pamela Churchill Hayward Harrison in the shade.
After being befriended as a struggling young student in China by an American couple and taught English by the wife and mother of the family, they brought her to America, sponsored her green card, and let her live in their house while attending college. She repayed the mom’s kindness by sleeping with the husband, breaking up the family, and marrying him.
Then, having served his purpose, he divorced her after he discovered she was cheating on him with another man. She then married and divorced her squeeze quickly after that –he evidently had little to offer in her quest for world domination.
Her big Safari kill was stealing Murdoch from his wife of 20 years and mother of 3 of his children.
Since then, her focus has been on alienating Murdoch from his children and disinheriting them so she and her spawn can take total control of the empire. There have been many stories about this, including the pre-Murdoch Wall Street Journal and even a rather tasteless riff on this story by a Law & Order episode starring Malcolm McDowell as the Murdoch subsitute who tries to murder the Wen-Di character.
See Vanity Fair for this story, http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/12/murdoch200812
I doubt Wen-Di is too broken up.She managed to wrestle away a big chunk for her spawn already and will herself end up with a huge settlement and an empire of her own he made possible. She got what she came for, now why continue to pretend to be in love with a gross, nasty old bugger.
I doubt she is unhappy with the divorce
As I was reading that, I thought, “That sounds like an ep of Law & Order I saw once.” Crazy.
Very, very nice summary. Thanks.
I had read that VF article and would never have predicted this outcome.
But her ego must be taking a bit of a hit. HER children will now commute between households. It was fine when it was happening to other children but I’m sure it’s the last thing she expected for her own.
Re: the sponsoring American couple: Low blow, I agree but the husband didn’t have to sleep with her. He made a vow and created children. It takes 2 to tango!
Sorry, double post.
I agree that it takes two tango. No one put a gun to Wendi Deng’s head and forced her to have sex with a married man. The husband’s wrongdoing does not change the fact that Wendi Deng committed adultery. Wendi Deng might be able to get others to overlook her wrongdoing but she can’t play that trick on Karma. Karma is a b****.
@boredsuburbanhousewife
Thanks for the link, was a fascinating read. I had no idea about Wendi’s past. That said, both of them are scum so it’s hard to pick a tema.
But on behalf of the former Mrs. Cherry, I hope Wendi doesn’t wind up with much a settlement.
Wow, VF really bent over backwards to kiss up to her! Thanks for the link.
Personally I think they’re both a couple of avaricious sociopaths who don’t care who they step on to get what they want, and almost see it as a game.
Well, onwards and upwards…not many good looking and youngish unattached billionaires around, though that Vladislav Doronin [sp?] is recently unattached from Noami Campbell……if anyone can persuade him to divorce his wife, dear Wendi can!!!
Well I think she deserves a very nice settlement. She gave away her 30’s, some of the best years of a woman’s life, to this old geezer. She bore him two children….oh…
I am going to guess that she wouldn’t have married him without a pre-nup guaranteeing her a very nice settlement.
I’m also slightly disappointed to hear that she wasn’t widowed by a “tragic accident” involving a 40-storey fall into a fortuituously-placed wood chipper. Gold-digging wives have no imagination these days…
LOL!
It’s gotta be soul crushing being married to a man several decades older … not for me, thanks.
Her husband pool thus far is all 100% “decades older” so we shall see who is next; maybe this time younger.
I don’t think Wendi Deng has a soul. And if she does, then I’m sure it got un-crushed just a teeny weeny bit by all the money and power that came with the old fart.
skanky skanks
Whatever. He’s scum.
There is rumoured to be a “jaw dropping” reason for the divorce, which is supposed to have blindsided Wendi.
And don’t worry about her – she’s as hard as nails and knew exactly what she was doing. They deserved each other.
No doubt he has a new wife lined up.
He married wife #2 the same year he divorced wife #1 and married wife #3 the same year he divorced wife #2. I see a pattern.
rupert and roger ailes are secret lovers… oh pleasepleaseplease let it be something as rancid as that… lol
Well this article came out today:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2341825/Tony-Blair-strongly-denies-affair-Wendi-Deng-outrageous-rumours-sweep-internet-reason-Murdoch-divorce.html
I don’t get why women are always portrayed as victims while men are villain. She started going around with him when he was still married and i am pretty sure it wasn’t because of his killer, irresistible, charming personality. I don’t understand why women imagine that men who mistreat and disrespect their wives will treat them any better. Also she isn’t the one who filed for divorce so I am guessing she didn’t want to leave the old fart and will be sad that she got dumped.
I don’t either one of them. He sis an ass and she is a adulterous, gold digger who got exactly what she deserved.
It’s always a sad day when true love dies.
LOL!
I can’t hear the violons anymore ;(
Wendi is what you call a successful climber. On the count that she’s HIGHLY educated and has SOMETHING that she managed to marry and get a green card the first time (1st time as a 2nd wife) and the same time around this second time…she’s very successful in that sense, and she sure isn’t dumb…
I know that some people have a price. But I can’t imagine sleeping with someone that old 🙁
A couple hundred million dollars is A LOT of money 😉 I do shudder at the thought though.
There have been many rumours that she was fooling around which cannot be easy on the ego of one of the world’s most powerful men.
This.
And so, swing in the changes before they restructure his company and she wants a claw in.
It’s assumed that she is the one who was fooling around, but going by Rupert’s record, he is the one with the wandering eye. It seems like Rupert has a pattern going. Before he divorces one wife, he’s already got another woman ready in the aisle [a mistress, like what Wendy was].
It will be interesting to see if he has another woman now or he has reached the stage where he is completely past it.
Wasn’t she and Murdoch the suspects on a blind item, on which the lady was fooling around with other ladies?? Maybe that is the jaw-dropping reason??
found the blind: http://blindgossip.com/?p=34595
Hmm, maybe this was Wendi’s idea not Murdoch’s? The guy’s 82, I’m pretty sure he can’t be bothered with the hassle of divorce. And it’s not like she needs his billions if she gets herself a cool settlement. She’s pretty much running the business too isn’t she?
It’ll be interesting to see how many of her friends like Geffen or Kidman stick around now that Wendi has been de-foxed.
Also, what boredsurburnhousewife said.
Wendi is an evil person. Read about her past and then tell me you hope she gets even a cent of his money. It’s only fair their kids are taken care of, but in my opinion she can go jump off a cliff.
I’m hearing rumours that she had an affair with war mongerer Tony Blair.
Oh please! She isn’t poor little “Wendi.” He may be a jerk but she isn’t innocent either. She is a witch to the help. I read this article about how she treated the nanny: http://gawker.com/5926705/it-was-like-a-war-zone-a-former-nanny-for-rupert-murdoch-and-wendi-deng-speaks-out
I hope she finds a nice young man she can pour her riches over and he takes her for a ride. Karma is a bitch.
Shocked! (insert sarcasm)
She married him for money and he will be on to his next play thing soon enough.
I want to feel bad for her, but I really don’t. She met him when he was still married to his second wife. Whatever difficulties she experienced during her marriage, she totally deserved and asked for it. As Nene Leakes says, “Close your legs to married men”. Karma is a b****.