Before John McEnroe married Patty Smyth in 1997, he was married to American actress Tatum O’Neal from 1986 to 1994.

The couple have three children together, and their eldest son, Kevin McEnroe, was born three months before their wedding. On August 1, 1986, the then 27-year-old tennis pro and the then 22-year-old “Paper Moon” actress gathered close family and friends – including best man Peter Rennert – for a ceremony at St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church in Oyster Bay, Long Island, near John’s parents’ home.

© Ron Galella

Photos show John in a suit and red bow tie, waving to the crowd as he exited the church alongside his new wife. Tatum looked stunning in a feminine ivory dress with a sheer lace neckline, nipped waist and tiered skirt with lace trim.

She accessorized with small heels, a pearl necklace, a bouquet of pastel pink and purple flowers, and a baby’s breath headband to keep her blonde curls out of her face.

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The former couple’s traditional wedding attracted a great deal of public interest, with 500 people reportedly gathering outside the church to catch a glimpse of the famous newlyweds – a far cry from John’s hopes of “staying under the radar”.

He told The Guardian: “I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to go unnoticed by my ex-wife.’

“So who the hell are you kidding? The attention exploded! It was way more than I’ve ever gotten from any person or thing. Oh my God! And then you stand on your hind legs.”

This explains why he wanted a very private wedding with his second wife Patty.

The separation of John and Tatum

© UK Press

John and Tatum first crossed paths in 1984 at a party in the Hollywood Hills. The Little Darlings star later admitted that she found him “very handsome” and described their meeting as “love at first sight.”

They married two years later and had two more children after the wedding – Sean was born in 1988 and Emily in 1991.

The couple separated in 1992 and ended up in a custody battle over their three children. John claimed his ex had a drug problem, while Tatum said the tennis star suffered from anger issues.

Their divorce was confirmed in 1994 and he was granted sole custody in 1998, despite her heroin addiction.

“I don’t think I ever got to the point where I was falling apart, but I was finding it difficult to function,” he told the Guardian about their split.

“For the first six months, all I cared about was taking the kids to school or making sure I was there for them. But at some point, someone said to me, ‘They see you crying and crying, and that’s not good for your kids.’ So I had to pull myself together.”

Recalling his parents’ conflicts, Kevin told People, “We grew up in an environment where they didn’t talk much unless we spoke to them individually. We loved them equally and individually, and I think through their conflicts, very different relationships developed between us because of that.”

“I can’t say if it was easier or harder than a divorce where people talked because I have no idea what that’s like. Sometimes it wasn’t easy but I’m sure every young person from a divorced family sometimes finds it a difficult hurdle to overcome to understand how to deal with it.”

John and Patty’s private wedding

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John found another love in Patty Smyth, the former star of the 80s rock band “Scandal”, whom he secretly married in 1997.

The couple were so keen to keep their love life private that they married in Hawaii in 1997, coinciding with the Oscars, “so no one would notice”.

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They never released details or photos of their ceremony, but the singer later told People that she considers her privacy to be the secret to her happy marriage.

“I just thought if I kept it a secret, I had a gut feeling that we would stay together – if I told the world, we wouldn’t – because I’ve experienced that so many times.”

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