John McEnroe’s daughter Emily all smiles as she shares sweet moment with her mom Tatum O’Neal

John McEnroe's former wife, Tatum O'Neal, has had a rocky past. Her heroin addiction led to the loss of custody of her children to the tennis legend in the late 1990s. However, she is now taking steps to reconcile with her children.

On Sunday, Tatum spent quality time with her youngest daughter, Emily. The daughter of the tennis legend and the Oscar-winning actress shared a candid moment on her Instagram story. The photo showed her cozied up next to her mother.

Emily tagged her mom's Instagram handle and also added three yellow heart emojis. She was dressed casually in a white t-shirt and jeans. She took the selfie while Tatum sat beside her in a delicate blue floral dress.

Emily's Instagram story

Tatum O'Neal was born on November 5, 1963, in Los Angeles to actors Ryan O’Neal and Joanna Moore. She became the youngest person ever to win a competitive Academy Award at age ten for Paper Moon.

O'Neal faced a lot of difficulties in her early life involving serious personal trauma, including abuse and emotional neglect. She later addressed this in her memoir, A Paper Life.

John McEnroe and Tatum began dating in the 80s, and the couple got married in 1986. They share three children, namely Kevin, Sean, and Emily. However, due to the emotional instability of their marriage, the duo divorced in 1994. They disputed over the custody of their three children, but due to Tatum's addiction, John gained sole custody in 1998.

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John McEnroe's son lauds Tatum O'Neal for powerful speech at the wedding

John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal's oldest son, Kevin, tied the knot with actress Fern Cozine in California on June 14. According to People, the ceremony reunited the entire family with Tatum for the first time in many years.

"Both Fern and I come from big, sometimes scattered families, but that day everyone came together," Kevin said. "It felt like a miracle, realizing that it wasn’t about us, or them. It was about everyone."

Kevin was proud that her mother, Tatum, managed to give him her blessings at the wedding after she survived a near-fatal stroke caused by a prescription drug overdose in 2020. Due to this, she had to spend six weeks in a coma and required extensive rehabilitation.

“My mother — who suffered a stroke in 2020 that left her temporarily nonverbal and immobile, but who fought her way back with grit and, at times, a kind of abridged elegance — got up and gave a speech,” Kevin told Vogue. “She thanked my father and stepmother for having her, told a bit of her wild life story, which she can’t seem to help, but also spoke of a future filled with love, hope and joy. She was brave and gracious, and I was proud of her for doing so."

Tatum O'Neal is now relishing every opportunity she gets to make up for the lost time due to her addiction. Spending time with her and John McEnroe's daughter on Sunday evening was one of the many ways she's trying to do so.

Edited by Anisha Chatterjee