London: Rupert Murdoch was upset by the alleged “closeness” between his ex-wife Wendi Deng and the former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the News Corp boss’ longest-serving editor-in-chief has claimed.
In his memoir Making Headlines, Chris Mitchell, the former editor of the Australian, has claimed Murdoch’s domestic staff reported this “closeness” to him.
He said Murdoch, 85, was “clearly lonely and struggling to sleep” after separating from Ms Deng, 47, according to The Guardian.
Murdoch filed for divorce in November 2013 after 14 years of marriage. They have two children together and Blair is godfather to one of their daughters.
He said Murdoch, 85, was “clearly lonely and struggling to sleep” after separating from Deng, 47, according to The Guardian.
Murdoch filed for divorce in November 2013 after 14 years of marriage. They have two children together and Blair is godfather to one of their daughters.
“It was clear that my boss had been devastated by the closeness he found between his wife and his former friend. I never asked what that was, but it is clear that his Australian family, alerted by domestic staff, rang the bell on whatever was going on when Rupert was out of town,” Mitchell wrote in his memoir.
Murdoch himself had said something similar in an interview with Fortune magazine in 2014, according to the Guardian. However, the former British prime minister has always strenuously denied having an affair with Deng and said
he will not speak about the allegations. Deng has declined to comment.
Friends of both Deng and Blair have said the two were friends and no more and that Blair was a sympathetic intermediary and confidant in a troubled marriage, the Guardian reported.
