Mary Lou Retton’s divorce was not newly announced. She and Shannon Kelley divorced in February 2018, after roughly 27 years of marriage. Retton publicly discussed the split months later, during the October 29, 2018 episode of Dancing with the Stars.
Retton said the experience had been difficult and lonely, and that the relationship had needed to end. She also said that she and Kelley remained on good terms. No reliable public account establishes a specific cause of the divorce or details of a settlement.
When did Mary Lou Retton reveal her divorce?
Retton disclosed the divorce during a conversation connected with her appearance on Dancing with the Stars on October 29, 2018. The disclosure came after her performance with professional partner Sasha Farber and shortly before she was eliminated from the competition.
At that point, the divorce had already been finalized for several months. Contemporary coverage, including an interview with Entertainment Tonight, reported that the legal divorce was completed in February 2018. Retton had simply not discussed it publicly before her television appearance.
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That distinction matters because the phrase “secret divorce” can suggest that the proceedings were legally concealed. The available reporting supports a narrower description: it was a private divorce that Retton did not publicly address until later in 2018.
What Mary Lou Retton said about the split
Retton described the divorce as hard and said she had felt very alone. She also indicated that the separation was something that had needed to happen for a long time.
Those comments are Retton’s description of her own experience, not a documented explanation of every factor behind the divorce. Neither the contemporaneous coverage nor the available authoritative biographical references establishes a specific reason the marriage ended.
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Retton also said that she and Kelley were still on good terms. That public comment does not provide details about their private arrangements, but it does offer the clearest available description of their relationship after the divorce.
Who was Shannon Kelley?
Shannon Kelley is Retton’s former husband. Contemporaneous coverage identified him as a former University of Texas quarterback.
Retton and Kelley married in 1990 and were together for approximately 27 years before their divorce was finalized in February 2018. Public reporting does not establish allegations of misconduct, a particular marital incident, financial terms, or another verified cause for the breakup.
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Their family
Retton and Kelley have four daughters: Shayla, McKenna, Skyla, and Emma. Their children formed part of the family context surrounding the long marriage, but the public record does not provide a detailed account of how the divorce affected the family privately.
Why the story resurfaced
Retton was already a major sports figure before appearing on the dance competition. At the 1984 Olympic Games, she became the first American woman to win the Olympic women’s all-around gymnastics title. Her appearance on Dancing with the Stars brought renewed attention to her personal life as well as her athletic career.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsBecause her disclosure occurred during a widely watched television appearance, later articles have sometimes presented it as though it were a recent announcement. It was not. Later references generally repeat the established timeline: a February 2018 divorce followed by a public discussion in October 2018.
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Read more about Retton’s life and career
Readers interested in her athletic background can look for Mary Lou: Creating an Olympic Champion, Mary Lou Retton’s autobiography. The book is a career-focused account of her rise to Olympic success, not a memoir centered on her divorce, so it should not be treated as a source explaining the end of her marriage.
What remains unknown
The public record supports the date of the divorce, the date of Retton’s disclosure, her description of the emotional difficulty, and her statement that she and Kelley remained on good terms. It does not support confidently stating:
- the precise reason the marriage ended;
- details of any divorce settlement or division of assets;
- claims about infidelity, abuse, or other alleged misconduct;
- the former couple’s private parenting or financial arrangements; or
- that a newer divorce announcement replaced the 2018 story.
Searches of later authoritative biographical references continued to mention the 2018 divorce but did not identify a newer announcement or a substantially expanded first-person account that supersedes Retton’s original disclosure. That does not reveal anything about private developments; it simply defines what has been publicly and reliably documented.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Mary Lou Retton’s divorce finalized?
Retton and Shannon Kelley’s divorce was finalized in February 2018, after approximately 27 years of marriage.
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When did Mary Lou Retton publicly discuss the divorce?
She discussed it during the October 29, 2018 episode of Dancing with the Stars, after performing with Sasha Farber and before her elimination.
Why did Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Kelley divorce?
Retton said the experience was difficult, that she felt alone, and that the relationship had needed to end. A specific, independently verified cause has not been established in the available public reporting.
The Bottom Line
Mary Lou Retton’s “secret divorce” refers to a private split from Shannon Kelley that was finalized in February 2018 and revealed publicly during Dancing with the Stars in October of that year. Retton described the experience as painful and lonely, but said she and Kelley remained on good terms. The reason for the divorce and its settlement details have not been reliably established.
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