Actress Tatum O’Neal and her ex-husband, tennis player John McEnroe, are both legends in their respective fields. Tatum, the daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal, holds the record for the youngest performer to ever win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Over on the tennis court, Ryan has numerous major accolades to his name, including a combined 16 Grand Slam titles. On paper, they made for quite the power couple. In practice, however, their marriage was one marred by mutual allegations of drug abuse, and accusations on O’Neal’s part that McEnroe often brought his notorious temper home with him.

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O’Neal and McEnroe wed in 1986. The pair welcomed three children before going their separate ways in 1992 and formally divorcing in 1994. A messy custody battle followed. While the two shared custody over their kids at first, the athlete was granted full custody after O’Neal began using heroin – something that accounts for just one chapter of the actress’ tragic, true story. She continued to struggle with addiction over the years, but has seemingly turned over a new leaf in her sobriety journey in recent years. Meanwhile, shortly after his divorce from O’Neal, McEnroe began what has proven to be a far longer marriage with singer Patty Smyth. But while he and his ex-wife eventually managed to mend fences to some extent, things between them remained rather tense for quite a while. In his 2002 memoir (via CNN), the tennis star noted that, like a rollercoaster, his relationship with his ex was “very up and down,” though “more down than up.”

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As previously mentioned, Tatum O’Neal and John McEnroe share three children. Their oldest, Kevin McEnroe, has grown up to become a writer. His debut novel, “Our Town,” released in 2015. Evidently, Kevin has also played a significant role in his parents slowly but surely making peace with one another over the years. In May 2015, Tatum and John both attended a reading of “Our Town,” during which the two were able to exchange some kind words despite not really being ready to be in each other’s lives full-time again. “John was really nice to me … I was very impressed how he has evolved –- and for being able to talk to me,” O’Neal told People at the time, adding, “I would say there isn’t a relationship, but there is respect now.”

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A decade later, she hinted that she and John had finally put all the bad blood to bed — from her point of view, anyway. In February 2025, a few months before Kevin’s wedding, the author and his Oscar-winning mother sat down for an interview with Variety. The two explained that while it was still rare for his parents to be in the same room, O’Neal wasn’t sweating the prospect of once again being reunited with her ex-husband on their son’s big day. “The anger is gone,” the “Paper Moon” star said. For his part, Kevin confirmed that Tatum would be making a speech at his wedding.