Mary Lou Retton Is Arrested for DUI Just a Few Miles From Her Childhood Home—Less Than 2 Years After Near-Fatal Pneumonia Battle

Yahoo

a day ago

Retired Olympian Mary Lou Retton was arrested on a DUI charge during a recent visit to her West Virginia hometown—more than 40 years after she soared to gold medal glory at the 1984 Games and less than two years after she faced a series of life-threatening health battles.
The 57-year-old former gymnast, who quickly became a household name after making history as the first American to win the women's all-around medal at the Olympics, was taken into custody on May 17 in Marion County and charged with one count of 'driving under influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs; penalties,' according to court documents.
Retton, who is currently based in Texas, 1,400 miles away from where she was arrested, posted $1,500 bond on the same day of her arrest.
The incident occurred just a few miles from Fairmont, WV, the town in which Retton was raised and lived until the age of 14, before relocating to Houston, TX. Although she made a brief return to the area in 2009, she returned to Texas jut three years later, where she has been based ever since.
However, her legacy remains a constant presence in Fairmont, where she has a street named after her—Mary Lou Retton Drive—in honor of her history-making Olympic performance.
It's unclear what prompted her most recent visit to Fairmont—nor has she made a public statement about her arrest; however, Realtor.com® has reached out to Retton's representatives for comment.
The arrest comes less than two years after Retton went through a series of health struggles after being diagnosed with a rare form of pneumonia that left her so sick she said she felt as though she had looked 'death in the face.'
Her diagnosis was initially revealed by her daughters in October 2023, when they launched an online fundraiser in a bid to secure donations toward their mother's hospital bills, revealing that their mother did not have insurance at the time of her hospitalization.
'She is not able to breathe on her own,' Retton's daughter, McKenna Kelley, told her Instagram followers at the time, while sharing a link to a funding page dedicated to her mother.
'My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life. She is not able to breathe on her own. She's been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details. However, I will disclose that she not insured,' Kelley shared.
Speaking to NBC in January 2024, months after she underwent treatment in intensive care, Retton said; 'I mean when you face death in the eyes, I have so much to look forward to.
'I'm a fighter and I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to give up. I have no idea what the future holds for me. I don't know if I'm going to have lasting issues with my lungs. They don't know. I wish I had answers. But I would never give up. It's not in me.'
At the time of her hospitalization, Retton was not insured and her family quickly set up an online fundraiser seeking donations to her medical bills—a move that came under fierce scrutiny from critics, who questioned exactly what the money was being used for.
The former gymnast, who has four daughters, told NBC that her money struggles had begun after her 2018 divorce from ex-husband Shannon Kelley and were exacerbated by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, leaving her unable to afford health insurance.
'I couldn't afford it, I couldn't afford it, I couldn't afford it,' she admitted. 'But who would even know that this was going to happen to me? That's the bottom line, I couldn't afford it.'
In total, the online crowdfunding page raised more than $459,000, which Retton's daughter, McKenna Kelley, told USA Today more than covered the cost of her mother's medical bills, adding that the family was planning to donate 'all remaining funds' to charity.
Retton defended the funding site while speaking with Entertainment Tonight, noting that her daughters were just 'trying to take care' of her and 'didn't deserve' any hate.
'You're welcome to your opinion, but you weren't in that situation. My daughters stepped up to the plate, and they saved my life and all the love and support saved my life, and these finances will only go to medical bills and I said what's left will go to the American Lung Association because I am now a member of the lung disease community.
'It's my daughters who inspire me. They were strong. I can't imagine them seeing me on my deathbed, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that I was.
'They've shown me pictures of myself, and I didn't even look like me. They inspire me, and they do every day. They're extraordinary young women. They're my biggest accomplishments. Take my five medals. I'll take my daughters over that any time,' she said at the time.
'I don't care about the naysayers. There are trolls everywhere. It's what makes us America. Everybody's got an opinion, but it is what it is,' she added, before confessing that her career—and finances—took a brutal hit during the pandemic.
'Our job is to be near people and talk to them and so there was no work whatsoever, so I mean, it's not like it used to be. Let's say that like the height of my fame was years ago and I just, you know, doing enough to make it, doing enough to pay my bills,' she conceded.
The gymnast then got candid about her health issues while speaking to People, telling the outlet that Kelley and her other daughters, Shayla, 30, Skyla, 25, and Emma, 22, thought she may not make it out of the hospital alive.
'They prayed over me, and McKenna said, 'Mommy, it's OK, you can go.'' I didn't have much of a relationship with my mother, but I can't imagine what that was like, to watch their mom on her deathbed,' Retton revealed in 2024.
The gymnast told the outlet that she believed that 'God wasn't ready for [her] yet,' admitting that she will 'never be the same.'
She added, 'It's been really hard. My lungs are so scarred. It will be a lifetime of recovery. My physicality was the only thing I had and it was taken away from me. It's embarrassing.'
Just two years before her hospitalization, Retton had purchased a newly built home in Boerne, TX—a three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom dwelling where she is understood to have been living when she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
The abode—which was purchased for an undisclosed amount—sprawls across 2,255 square feet and comes complete with a two-car garage and brick facade.
Realtor.com estimates that the home is now worth $551,300.
According to property records, an HOA lien was taken out on the home in 2023—a legal claim that is made when a homeowner fails to pay their HOA fees.
The lien was filed in March of that year, stating that Retton owed $1,056.88 in unpaid association assessments, handling charges, and collection costs, noting in the filing that this amount 'may continue to increase.'
As the time of writing, the lien was still in effect.
Retton purchased the property three years after her divorce from Kelley was finalized—with reports later claiming that the former Olympian had received $2 million from her former spouse as part of their settlement.
Court papers viewed by the Daily Mail at the time of her health battle revealed details of her split from the former Texas Longhorns quarterback, stating that the division of property saw her walking away with $1,950,597 after an equal division of their assets.
Extreme Weather Disasters Will Escalate Foreclosures and Create Systemic Financial Risk in Mortgage Markets, Study Warns
Ohio Homeowner 'Hit the Floor' After Seeing Her Home Value Skyrocket—Now She's Fighting To Abolish Property Tax in the State
Coffee Tycoon's $90 Million Palm Beach Megamansion Percolates to the Top of This Week's Most Expensive Homes