Wendi's 'affair' with Tony Blair made me divorce her: Murdoch

Wendi's 'affair' with Tony Blair made me divorce her: Murdoch

LONDON - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has opened up for the first time about his divorce from Ms Wendi Deng, acknowledging that her rumoured affair with former British prime minister Tony Blair led him to divorce her.

In an interview with Fortune magazine, previewed by many British papers, the 83-year-old founder, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation said he discovered Ms Deng had spent secret weekends with Mr Blair at the tycoon's California ranch when she inadvertently sent an e-mail to the wrong person.

Mr Murdoch, who was in Australia, immediately flew back to the ranch to quiz the staff - then hired a lawyer.

The couple divorced last November after 14 years of marriage.

Mr Murdoch also confirmed the existence of a note, published by Vanity Fair last month, in which Ms Deng allegedly gushed to herself about 60-year-old Blair's "good body", "butt" and "piercing blue eyes".

Murdoch told Fortune he was "shocked" by the diary entries, which he said was only shown to him after he filed for divorce from Deng, his third wife.

He told the magazine the revelation made him feel he had made the right decision, but he regretted the fact that the diary entries made worldwide headlines.

"I regret the whole Vanity Fair thing. I wish we just could have got divorced quietly," he told Fortune.

This article was published on April 13 in The Straits Times.

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

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