John McEnroe's golden rule with wife that stops them from splitting up after 29 years

John McEnroe and wife Patty Smyth are closing in on 30 years as a married couple and are still going strong. The three-time Wimbledon men's singles champion, who will return as part of the BBC's live broadcast team this summer, married singer-songwriter Patty in 1997 after his first marriage to actress Tatum O'Neal ended in divorce. The former world No.1, who celebrated his 67th birthday in February, was known for his bad-boy antics on the court and has garnered a reputation for his style of commentary and analysis off it. He is part of a star-studded BBC line-up this year, with the likes of Andre Agassi and Eugenie Bouchard also set to lend their expertise to the broadcasts from SW19.

McEnroe has two children with Patty, who had a top-10 hit with her band Scandal in the 80s, as well as three children from his previous marriage. The pair's longevity owes a lot to them sticking by a golden rule, though it's one they nearly fell foul of in the early 2000s. Speaking to People in 2020, Smyth said "you've got to keep the sex going!" when discussing the secret to their marriage. However, she was also keen to stress the importance of keeping a low profile even as a celebrity couple.

"For me, it was a superstition thing," the singer, now 69, said. "I didn't want to be like, 'Hey, look at us, we're this happy couple.' I just thought if I kept it on the down-low, I had this gut feeling that we would stay together - if I threw it out to the world, that we wouldn't - because I've seen that happen so many times."

She also revealed she and McEnroe had been in tentative talks over a reality show around the turn of the century but appeared grateful it didn't come to fruition. "That probably would have broken us up, I bet you," she added.

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