"Sometimes we think we're making the right decision and maybe we aren't" - When John McEnroe's ex-wife Tatum O'Neal opened up on their separation

John McEnroe's ex-wife and famous American actress Tatum O'Neal opened up on her separation from the American tennis legend.

In 1994, O'Neal and McEnroe divorced after six years of marriage. Famously contentious, their divorce involved allegations of drug addiction on both sides. O'Neal lost custody of her children after their divorce and developed a heroin addiction. However, she eventually got clean.

The American actress spoke candidly about her split with the seven-time Grand Slam champion in a 2020 interview with CBS News. She claimed that being married was the happiest moment of her life and that ending the relationship may not have been the best decision.

"I was not myself. I was, at 22, and then the kids gave me a kind of a real reason to keep going and fight. And still, the happiest times of my life were the times that I was married, funny enough. So, sometimes we think we're making the right decision and maybe we aren't. And I have to live with that, too. Well, to leave my marriage," O'Neal said.

Tatum O'Neal said that she was loved and cared for and claimed that she had never met somebody as special as McEnroe. The American expressed her delight at seeing McEnroe happy as well.

"Perhaps not. 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 continued.

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"The end of marriage and career was a lot to handle" - John McEnroe opens up on his struggles

John McEnroe pictured at the 2021 Laver Cup.

In an old interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, John McEnroe discussed his struggles in 1994. That year, the American retired from tennis and divorced his first wife Tatum O'Neal. He admitted that it was "overwhelming" at times to deal with the breakdown of the marriage and the end of his career.

"Not only was I losing a part of my identity, which was tennis or so I thought, turns out I'm still obviously a lot more involved than I thought I would be at the time," John McEnroe said.

"What I basically thought I was stopping for in a way was to allow my ex-wife to sort of have the opportunity to go out and do her thing and then take care of the kids, which I thought that's not a bad thing, they're young and that would be a good thing. So then to have neither one of those in a way, like the end of the marriage and the career, that was a lot to handle. That seemed a bit overwhelming," he added.