Rupert Murdoch has filed for divorce from his wife Wendi Deng, it was confirmed today.
It was not immediately clear what had prompted the couple to split although a spokesman for Mr Murdoch said the marriage had been irretrievably broken for more than six months.
News Corp chief executive Mr Murdoch, 82, married the Ms Deng, 44, in 1999 on board the mogul's private yacht, Morning Glory, amid tight security.
Only 82 people attended the private New York service, at which the Welsh singer Charlotte Church performed.
The couple have two children together - Grace, who was born in late 2001, and Chloe, who was born in the summer of 2003.
The divorce filing comes just days before the split of News Corp into two companies, one for its entertainment assets and the other for its publishing business.
Analysts said the end of the marriage was unlikely to have an effect on the corporate separation.
It is understood Mr Murdoch and Ms Deng had a prenuptial agreement.
"I doubt it has a substantial impact on the spin," said Gabelli & Co. analyst Brett Harriss. "Given that it's his third wife, I see it unlikely that he didn't plan for this contingency."
Ms Deng hit the headlines in 2011 when she leapt to her husband's defence when a protester threw a pie at him while he was questioned by MPs over the phone hacking scandal.
Mr Murdoch has been married three times: to Patricia Booker (1956-67), to Anna Maria Torv (1967-99) and to Ms Deng.
Mr Murdoch was reported to have paid out £1.08 billion in his divorce settlement from his last wife Anna - a sum that would make it one of the most expensive divorces of all time.
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