John McEnroe’s ex-wife has opened up about her past relationship with the tennis legend as their eldest son prepares to tie the knot.
Tatum O’Neal was married to McEnroe from 1986 to 1994 but ended up harboring “anger” towards him after they got divorced. O’Neal has spoken out about their relationship and where it went sour, but admitted that she has since let go of her negative feelings towards him.
With son Kevin’s upcoming wedding marking the first time the former couple will be in the same room in years, O’Neal assured that there will be no tension between them. “The anger is gone,” she told Variety, via the Express.
McEnroe and O’Neal spent years communicating through their children, but she admitted in 2020 that the “happiest times” of her life came during their short marriage. The tennis star remarried in 1997 to Patty Smyth, and O’Neal claims she is glad he is now happy.
Speaking to CBS in 2020, O’Neal said: “I was loved, I was cared for. … That’s it, that’s what one wants, isn’t it, in a marriage? I’ve never met anyone who even comes close to my ex-husband. He’s happier, and I’m happy for him. And that makes me happy.”
O’Neal appeared in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2004, 10 years on from her divorce, and stated that there was still drama in their relationship at the time. The now-61-year-old said: “We’re divorced 10 years and it’s still a long story because we’re still deep into a psychic drama, he and I.
O’Neal says she no longer feels any anger towards her ex-husband (
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“It’s a very difficult communication, through our kids, you know, and God bless how well they’ve turned out.”
The former couple are now preparing for their son Kevin’s upcoming wedding, after their eldest offspring proposed to his girlfriend Fern in 2023.
After they announced their engagement on social media, O’Neal was full of joy as she wrote: “This is so beautiful. Wow, Fern and my son. Oh I can’t take it was so beautiful. Wow stunning love you guys.”
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