The public was somewhat baffled by the news that Rupert Murdoch had filed for divorce with his third wife, Wendi Deng.
No one was quite sure why the husband and wife-an apparent power-couple who stuck by one another's side in the business and political sectors-decided to split. Then former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Deng's longtime friend, got involved.
It turns out that Deng, 44, might have had an affair with Blair, 60, who is the godfather of Murdoch and Deng's daughters, Grace, 11 and Chloe, 9, USA Today reported.
Blair's spokesperson denied the claim on Friday.
This is just the beginning of what will surely shape up to be a dramatic and very public breakup, columnist and Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff told USA Today.
"This is not amicable, it's totally public, it's a throw-down-the-gauntlet, we-are-going-to-war kind of thing," he said. "If [Murdoch] feels that someone is going to war with him, he's going to strike first."
Blair was in power as New Labor prime minister, and welcomed with open arms by politically conservative Murdoch.
But now, the two might not be on such amicable terms.
The situation has gotten even hairier on the financial side, as matrimonial lawyers have started talking about the potential impact from the pre-nuptial agreement the two signed before their marriage.
Additionally, Murdoch's company News Corp is in the midst of breaking up into two companies at the end of the month. Murdoch will run both of the companies, as a main executive, CFO David DeVoe, announced plans to retire after working with Murdoch for 25 years.
Wolff said this information was "nearly as seismic," as the divorce, as it could create a wealth of problems and stress for Murdoch.
"What is happening over there?" Wolff tweeted on Friday. "Beginning to sound like the climax of a Godfather movie, everybody killed, at News Corp."
Beginning to sound like the climax of a Godfather movie, everybody killed, at News Corp.
— Michael Wolff (@MichaelWolffNYC) June 14, 2013
