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Jerry Hall once dated Mick Jagger, a man who hardly seems to age, for 22 years.

She must have had enough of all that rhythm, blues, and soul because in March 2016 she married Rupert Murdoch, a soulless man who has done more damage to democracy in the US than almost any other modern figure.

Hall is now 65 and Murdoch is 91 but that’s nothing true love and the latter’s net worth of around £14 billion couldn’t bridge.

The couple is now set to divorce after just over six years of marriage, an announcement which came out of the blue for the general public. In December, Murdoch bought a massive ranch in Montana for £228 million in what appeared to be a romantic gesture to his Texan-born wife.

According to insiders who spoke with The Telegraph, it’s been bubbling away behind the scenes for a while:

“After the pandemic he had started snapping at her a little,” said one source. “They had been very isolated during the lockdowns because Rupert was having to be careful about his health, so they were spending a lot of time in each other’s company…

As the reports of divorce percolated through the upper echelons of London and New York society on Thursday, rumours began to surface that Mr Murdoch had complained about his wife’s behaviour, and also that he didn’t like that she enjoyed a drink.

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Regardless of whether there is any truth in such a claim (friends say Ms Hall does drink, but not to excess), it suggests that Mr Murdoch’s mind is made up. And, as one acquaintance put it, “when he makes his mind up about something, it’s short and sharp and that’s it”.

This will be Murdoch’s fourth divorce so at least he’s well practised.

His 1999 separation from Scottish-born newspaper journalist Anna Torv after 32 years was rumoured to have come with a £1,5 billion settlement.

Hall, on the other hand, never legally married Jagger but their split in 1999, due to his infidelity, led to a settlement in the region of £18 million.

It’s unclear what sort of figures would be involved in her divorce from Murdoch:

Whether Ms Hall is entitled to keep any of the properties, or even if she is entitled to a lump sum as part of a divorce, if the couple do split permanently, will depend on the terms of any pre-nuptial agreement signed by them before they married at Spencer House in London in March 2016.

Naturally, with such a salacious story, The Daily Mail is hard at work speaking to ‘inside sources’ and the like.

It would be remiss of me not to present this gem:

‘The fact is Jerry’s surprisingly lazy while Murdoch is still the workaholic he has always been. I think the gloss started coming off the romance after lockdown.’

…Jerry also smokes, which Murdoch hates, and likes a drink. Then there is the family dimension. She finds the jostling for attention by Rupert’s children all rather tiresome.

Image: Karwai Tang / Getty Images

As one friend caustically puts it: ‘Basically, Jerry is stuck in Succession [the Sky Atlantic series said to be based on the Murdoch family] when she wants to be in Absolutely Fabulous.’

Succession clearly draws on elements of the Murdoch family dynamic but its creators have also taken inspiration from other famous billionaire family dramas.

91-year-old Rupert is back on the market, ladies.

[sources:telegraph&dmail]