Rupert Murdoch, 92, announces engagement to girlfriend

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By Asiya Ali

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Rupert Murdoch has announced his engagement to his girlfriend Elena Zhukova.

The Former FOX patriarch's office revealed that the 92-year-old is engaged for a sixth time, and this time will marry the 67-year-old retired molecular biologist, as reported by the New York Times.

The couple have already sent out invitations for their forthcoming ceremony, which is set to be held in June at Rupert's grand California estate and vineyard.

Murdoch is believed to have been dating Zhukova (with whom he shares a stark 30-year age difference) for several months.

Rupert Mudoch
Murdoch announced his engagement to his girlfriend Elena Zhukova. Credit: Neil Mockford / Getty

The Australian-born business magnate first sparked rumors with his new fiancée after his previous engagement to former police chaplain and vineyard owner Ann Lesley Smith was canceled just two weeks after it was announced.

According to the Daily Mail, the lovebirds started dating last August when they were seen cruising the Mediterranean on a family summer holiday. At the time an insider said that Murdoch has "got the energy of people half his age," and added: "He just might be in love again," as cited by The Mirror.

Zhukova is a twice-divorced molecular biologist and specialist in diabetes. She has lived in America for over three decades working at the medical research unit in UCLA after leaving Russia in 1991 with her family.

She is the mother of Dasha Zhukova, a Russian socialite famous for her marriage to Russian oligarch and former Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.

The soon-to-be-married couple was originally introduced through Zhukova's daughter and Murdoch's third wife Wendi.

Rupert Mudoch
Murdoch has tied the knot four times. Credit: Steven Ferdman / Getty

The famous media mogul has a long dating history in the spotlight and has tied the knot four times with his engagement to Zhukova, marking the sixth woman he's gotten down on one knee for.

Murdoch was 25 years old when he first got married in 1956 to former flight attendant Patricia Booker, whom he welcomed his firstborn child in 1958.

After their divorce 11 years later, his second marriage to Anna Torv, a trainee journalist he met while she was working on one of his Australian titles, lasted more than 30 years. The pair welcomed three children - Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James.

He had two further children, daughters Grace and Chloe, by his third wife Wendi Deng, whom he married in 1999, just three weeks after he divorced Anna.

Back in 2016, the business owner shocked the world by marrying ex-model Jerry Hall - the former partner of Rolling Stones star Sir Mick Jagger with whom she had four children. The marriage lasted six years before they too divorced.

Now, he is set to marry Zhukova in the summer.

Featured image credit: John Phillips / Getty