All The Details About John McEnroe And Patty Smyth's Long Marriage

When Patty Smyth and John McEnroe attended a Christmas party in 1993, neither was looking for love. Speaking to AARP: The Magazine in 2020, Smyth shared that she had given up on the idea of getting married at the time, explaining, "I had a great life. I thought I might adopt a child because I only had Ruby and she kept telling me one wasn't enough." She added that she didn't have any men who piqued her interest and believed she wouldn't find anyone interesting anytime soon. But just one date with McEnroe completely changed her perspective. 

Smyth explained that she felt like she'd seen the signs that he was the one, and he shared the same sentiments. At the time, the "The Warrior" singer was surrounded by broken relationships, so she knew what she had with McEnroe was special. The happy couple tied the knot in 1997 in a private ceremony. Smyth told AARP they took great care to ensure the media didn't find out about their marriage and even had their ceremony in Hawaii on Oscars day to ward off unwanted attention. 

Smyth elaborated on why privacy was vital to her during the early days of their relationship. "I thought if we started talking about how happily married we are, we would jinx it," she shared. Their trick seems to have worked since they've been quietly thriving since 1997. After establishing a solid foundation, the couple wasn't afraid to share their love with the world by walking red carpets together and gushing about their love on numerous occasions. 

Patty Smyth isn't afraid to share her love for John McEnroe through her music. Speaking to The Daily Beast, she shared that while she and McEnroe have been married for decades, their love still inspired her to write music. In 2020, she released "Build A Fire" as a single from her album "It's About Time." The track was a spicy testament to how she and McEnroe keep their marriage strong through sex. 

When the couple appeared on "Today with Hoda & Jenna," Smyth noted that many marriages lost their spark because the couples couldn't prioritize intimacy, so she suggested entrusting one person with the responsibility of initiating it. Smyth continued that she couldn't attribute their marital success to a singular thing and believed luck also played a part. Meanwhile, McEnroe said he was grateful that Smyth let him be himself and follow his passions. 

Although the tennis star is notorious for his tantrums, they both agreed that Smyth is the bigger hothead at home. In an adorable turn of events, we also learned that Smyth buys most of McEnroe's clothes. During an appearance on "In Depth With Graham Bensinger," McEnroe also shared the secret to their long-standing marriage, "We work as a team. We make each other better. The sum of the two of us is better than our parts," he said, adding, "Giving what the other person needs when there's a vacuum [or] whoever is disillusioned, the other picks you up."

John McEnroe and Patty Smyth share six children, two of whom they welcomed together. McEnroe has three children from his previous marriage to Tatum O'Neal, and Smyth has a daughter named Ruby with her ex-husband, Richard Hell. When the couple sat down with CBS Sunday Morning, McEnroe explained that his fiery personality often created tensions with his family, where all six kids and his wife would stand up against him. 

Still, McEnroe was always firmly rooted in his beliefs. When he appeared on "In Depth With Graham Bensinger," he admitted that he might've been too hard on his eldest kids because of his experiences as the oldest child. However, as they grew up, McEnroe released his hold and let them live their lives. He also shared that when Ruby came into his life, he struggled with raising her right because he wanted to make her feel like any of his other kids, but he also knew that she had to deal with the conflicting opinions of her mom, himself, and her biological father.

McEnroe has also bonded with their children based on their shared love of music, as Smyth told The Daily Beast that their children loved having jam sessions with him. However, things seemed to have quieted down at home as all their children moved out. Despite everything, Smyth told People she still gets butterflies whenever she sees McEnroe. When she was young, she never believed she could be married for this long, let alone be happy in a long-standing marriage, and yet here she is!