"I felt pressured to prove my happiness" - When John McEnroe opened up on being pressured by paparazzi after his marriage to Tatum O'Neal
A few years ago, tennis legend John McEnroe revealed that the paparazzi pressurized him and his former wife Tatum O'Neal to pose for photos shortly after they were married.
In 1986, the seven-time Grand Slam champion wed Tatum O'Neal, an American actress. The pair, however, separated in 1994. Both parties accused one another of drug abuse during their divorce, which attracted the attention of both the public and the media.
In his 2002 book You Can't Be Serious, John McEnroe talked about how, on August 1, 1986, they set up a tent near the church to minimize any media interactions while he was getting married to Tatum O'Neal. However, some members of the media began yelling at them and asking them to pose.
"We were married on August 1, 1986, in St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church, near my house in Oyster Bay. We had a tent put up so that people could enter the church privately. I wasn’t about to try to make things easier for the paparazzi. Some of the reporters and photographers started yelling, as we came out of the church, 'Just smile; come on, just pose for a few pictures! You’re happy, right? Come on!'" McEnroe said.
The American went on to say that posing for the media and being pressured to prove his happiness was the last thing he wanted to do, and that he "hated every minute of it."
"That was the last thing I wanted to do. Whether I was happy or not had nothing to do with it to me. Maybe it should have. I’m still not sure. We ended up posing anyway: There are pictures of us, outside the church. I’m sorry we did it—I felt pressured to prove my happiness, which is completely ridiculous, when you think about it. I hated every minute of it," John McEnroe said.
Who is John McEnroe married to now?
John McEnroe met Patty Smyth after the dissolution of his marriage to O'Neal, and just a few years later, in 1997, the couple tied the knot. Patty is a singer and songwriter who became well-known for her work with the band Scandal, which she then used to launch a successful solo career.
Smyth and McEnroe share two children together: daughters Anna and Ava. Apart from this, McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal also have three children: Kevin, Sean and Emily.