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Former American tennis player John McEnroe revealed that he kept the news of his ex-wife Tatum O'Neal's pregnancy a secret from his parents because he thought that they had never approved of his relationship with the actress. The couple married in 1986, a few months after they gave birth to their first child, Kevin. They went on to have two more children, Sean and Emily.
In his book "You Cannot Be Serious," published in 2002, McEnroe revealed a major incident in his life where the seven-time Grand Slam champion had hidden news of his wife's pregnancy from his parents. The 63-year-old conveyed that he panicked under the situation as he felt that his parents never acknowledged Tatum O'Neal in the first place. He suspected that his parents knew "other things" about his wife that he could have "never discussed with them."
"I panicked. In fact, I hadn’t told her because, although my parents were often affectionate with Tatum, I knew, deepdown, that they didn’t approve of her. She was an actress, her parents were divorced, she was too young, she hadn’t gone to college. I suspect they knew other things about her, too. Things that Tatum and I could never discuss with them. And then, beyond all that, to have a child out of wedlock! My parents were churchgoing Catholics," John McEnroe stated in his book.
Unfortunately, the couple got divorced in 1994 as their relationship was poisoned by drug addiction right from the start. John McEnroe is currently married to American singer Patty Smyth.
"It's been the story of my life, in a lot of ways" - John McEnroe on the incident about hiding the news of his ex-wife's pregnancy from his parents
John McEnroe's mother came to know of the birth of her grandson via People's Magazine. She received a call from the magazine four days after the birth as she was asked to comment on the good news.
McEnroe's mother, who was unaware of the news at the time, said that she "doubted it."
"Four days after we’d heard the news, my mother received a phone call from People magazine, and was asked to comment about a report that Tatum was pregnant. Was it true? My mother said she doubted it, because her son surely would have told her," John McEnroe wrote in the book.
The four-time US Open champion finally gained the courage to speak to his mother about the incident as he felt that he could no longer withstand the guilt.
"More Catholic guilt! I couldn’t stand it. I called her back, and I said, 'By the way, I forgot to tell you you’re going to be a grandmother.' And that’s how she finally found out. It’s been the story of my life, in a lot of ways," McEnroe added.
