American Gymnast Mary Lou Retton never failed to keep herself out of the frame-- from creating hisses being the  Sportswoman of the Year in The 1984 Olympics to creating ripples after being divorced from her husband after over two decades of marriage!

The West Virginia-native established herself as a pioneering figure in American women's gymnastics after becoming the first-ever American woman to win the all-around gold medal at the Olympics in gymnastics.

In 2018, she appeared as a contestant on the 27th season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Australian professional dancer, Sasha Farber.

Never Too Old: At age 50, Mary dances alongside her partner, Sasha on DWTS (Published on 29 October 2018)

Mary Lou Retton has aged finely like a vintage wine and has not lost her body features that made her America's darling in the summer of 1984. Thanks to her exertions in her sports and then TV, she boasts a hefty net worth of $8 Million.

At Age 8, Mary Lou Retton Joined Gymnastics: From Being Inspired To Inspiring People!

Mary Lou Retter was born on 24 January 1968 in Fairmont, West Virginia to parents, Ronnie Retton and Lois Retton.

Inspired by watching Nadia Comaneci outshine defending Olympic two-event winner Olga Korbut on television at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Mary, at the early age of 8, joined in Gymnastics.

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After moving to Houston, Retton was as she got the opportunity to train under Romanians Béla and Márta Károlyi- who had coached her idol Nadia Comaneci before their migration to the United States. 

Mary began to make a name for herself in the U.S., winning the American Cup in 1983 and placing herself second at the US Nationals that same year. 

However, her life measured an early shock as she suffered a knee injury when she was performing a floor routine at a local gymnastics center just after winning her second American Cup, the U.S. Nationals, and the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1984 which resulted in forcing her to undergo an operation five weeks.

Retton, who stands at the height of 4 feet and 9 inches, recovered just in time to take part in the 1984 Olympics. Adding more woes was her sophomore year in high school, Fairmont Senior High School after she decided to focus more on her professional life; she did not graduate and instead attended the Olympic tournament.

Not only did she took a subtle part in the tournament, but she also created a historical moment as she- despite all the hurdles- bagged herself the all-around gold medal in the competition which made her the first woman to do so.

After being an inspirational figure for everybody in such a short time, she retired in 1986.

How Mary Lou Retton Got Married To Her Husband!

After all the gold medals she acquainted throughout her journey, Mary's bid for the gold after her finished career meant exchanging rings with Shannon Kelly, the former University of Texas quarterback on 29 December 1991 wedding ceremony. 

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Their love story is no less than a fairy tale from Kelly's side as he remembers talking to mom about marrying her while watching her 1984 performances on TV.

The dream to marry her eventually turned out to be real, as ten months later, he was introduced to Retton by a mutual friend, Kelley. In the early days of their love life, Kelley was viably attracted to Retton by her competitive spirit. Not much is known about their dating life.

But what is known is that it was on February 1989, Kelly, who had second thoughts about their planned engagement, eventually handed Retton a note during their drive home from the airport on Valentine’s Day which read, “Will you marry me?”.

Well, the answer is quite clear as they duo tied their knots two years later.

How Many Daughters Does Marry Lou Retton Have? 

Together they are a family of five including four daughters: Shayla (born on 1995), McKenna (born on 1997), a current NCAA gymnast at Louisiana State University, Skyla (born on 2000), and Emma (born on 2002).

Marry must be proud that her daughter, McKenna is following her footsteps.

After 27 Years Of Marriage, Mary Divorced Her Husband

As it is said, nothing lasts forever even cold November rain; similar happened in Mary Lou Retton's Life. Even after sharing almost 27 years of marriage, the duo shared an undisclosed divorce. 

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Despite being divorced in February 2018, the news started buzzing out in the late October 2018. Retton, who had been reticent about her divorce for almost eight months, finally took center stage to publicly state about her divorce following her cameo in Dancing With The Stars.

Talking about the split she added, 

"It's something that had really needed to happen for a long time," she said. "We still love one another, but we weren't great together anymore."

She even confessed that moving on from the split was very hard for her. Moreover, she also thanked her four daughters for always staying side by her and helping her to recover. 

The End: Mary talks about her split with former husband, Shelly on DWTS (Published on 30 October 2018)

As of now, Mary Lou Retton, at the age of 50, is an independent and single woman.