Wendi Deng Murdoch Stands by Her Man
Summary
It wasn’t Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire or money that protected him from an attacker during questioning before a committee of the British Parliament yesterday. His wife, Wendi Deng Murdoch, instantly leapt to his defense, pushed away the attacker, and returned to comfort her husband.
“When you’re in pain, I believe I should be able to fix it. I don’t know how to fix it, so I feel guilty, withdraw from you, and blame you when you’re in pain.”
by SETH EISENBERG
FATHERHOODCHANNEL.COM
It’s not easy watching someone you love go through a tough time.
As Rupert Murdoch and his son, James Murdoch, were grilled by a committee of the British Parliament yesterday, it wasn’t the media mogul’s global business empire, lawyers, or money that quickly leapt to his defense as a threatening heckler lunged from the crowd.
Wendi Deng Murdoch, a 42-year-old Chinese immigrant who became 80-year-old Rupert Murdoch’s third wife in 1999, was already fighting off the attacker before police or anyone else had time to react. While stunned legislators watched, she instantly jumped up from a seat behind Rupert Murdoch, pushed the attacker away, went after him with the same plate of shaving cream with which he’d sought to humiliate the News Corp. chairman, and then returned to comfort her husband.
It was a good day for Wendi Deng Murdoch, an example for couples everywhere of standing by, with, and for a loved one during a difficult period, and not bad for the family’s News Corp. stock, which regained more than $2 billion after her husband’s testimony.
One of PAIRS Founder Lori Heyman Gordon’s favorite “love knots,” a term she popularized in marriage education classes to help couples recognize hidden assumptions and expectations, goes something like this:
“When you’re in pain, I believe I should be able to fix it. I don’t know how to fix it, so I feel guilty, withdraw from you, and blame you when you’re in pain.”
Untangling that, and many other “love knots” has helped thousands of couples rewrite faulty expectations and beliefs that sabotage love. In this example, it’s about learning to do what we can to be supportive and helpful even when we can’t fix a problem for someone we love.
Wendi Deng Murdoch may know that she can’t fix the challenges facing her husband’s media empire or protect Rupert Murdoch from harsh daily headlines, hecklers and interrogations. But she does know what it means to stand by, with, and for the man she loves.
Within a moment of threatening her husband with a plate of shaving cream, so did the attacker and millions watching.
Seth Eisenberg is President/CEO of PAIRS Foundation, an industry leader in marriage and relationship education.
Murdoch Positive Version (of “fix it” Love Knot): “When you’re in pain (under pressure), I look to do what I can to ‘fix it’. I’m happy when I can. I offer you help and comfort for what you are going through…