No matter who you talk to at News Corp, this summer is set to culminate in a number of divisions for chairman Rupert Murdoch, who now also files for divorce from wife Wendi Deng, 38 years his junior.

Wendi Deng, 44, glamorous, and ambitious, have two teenage daughters together with Murdoch, all of which at the very least has made Murdoch seem a bit more vigorous than the typical 82-year-old. Apparently, Deng also kept Murdoch on a strict diet and forced him to exercise.

As his media empire prepares to split into two separate publicly traded companies, the news Murdoch has filed for divorce from his wife comes very suddenly.

Regarding the family trust, although their two teen girls have financial shares they do not have voting shares, unlike Murdoch's four adult children from his previous marriages. The question which - if any - of Murdoch's children would eventually succeed him as chairman was already a hard one to ignore as he turned 80 in march 2011, but it has become an inescapable topic four months later when revelations of phone hacking and other illegal behaviors by employees of his British newspapers came to light.

The scandal resulted in an intra-family rift, and interrupted the career development of James Murdoch. Before going to parliament to answer a questioning about the hacking allegations, Murdoch was saved from a pie in the face when Deng bounced from her seat to intercept a protester armed with a tin plate of shaving cream.

The incident made a strong impression on the family unity, but it was not to last long. A year ago, Deng was profiled in the New York Times in a story that made pointed mentions of the couple's "largely separate lives."

But two executives familiar with the matter said that Rupert and Wendi had signed a prenuptial agreement and that the divorce should not affect the trust. "The kids will be throwing a party," an executive said, referring to Rupert's adult children, "but otherwise there's no impact." A News Corp. spokesman confirmed the divorce filing but declined to comment further.