Who Is Mary Lou Retton's Ex-Husband? All About Shannon Kelley

Mary Lou Retton married Shannon Kelley in 1990 before divorcing 27 years later

Mary Lou Retton was married to Shannon Kelley for nearly three decades before their split in 2018.

The Olympian tied the knot with Kelley in 1990 after meeting the year prior. In the years that followed, she and Kelley, a former college quarterback and a businessman, welcomed four daughters together: McKenna, Shayla, Skyla and Emma.

After 27 years of marriage, however, Retton revealed the pair were divorced during her time on Dancing with the Stars. She said that they had split quietly, not telling many people other than their family and close loved ones.

“My close-knit people obviously knew, but not a lot of people knew,” she told PEOPLE. “I don’t think the ex told anybody, but that’s just coming from me — that could be wrong. A lot of people were surprised.”

She added that though the split was difficult, she was ready for the next chapter of her life.

“I’m on a really good path, and I’m happy with my life,” Retton said. “I’m really excited for what this new chapter is going to bring instead of being that scared person that I was a couple of months ago. I really have done a full turnaround.”

In October 2023, Retton's daughter McKenna announced that her mother had been in the hospital for over a week with a rare form of pneumonia and had been "fighting for her life" in the ICU. She was released later that month, though McKenna noted that her mom had a "long road of recovery ahead."

During a January 2024 interview on the Today Show, Retton shared an update on her recovery while using a breathing apparatus, admitting that she's still in a "vulnerable state" months after she was discharged from the hospital.

"I'm so grateful to be here. I am blessed to be here, because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support," she said.

Despite their split, Retton and Kelley were supportive of each other, particularly when it came to co-parenting their girls. The gold medalist had previously spoke of the family's tight bond to PEOPLE, explaining that though she and Kelley were no longer together, they remained amicable.

“It’s something that had really needed to happen for a long time,” she said of their divorce. “We still love one another, but we weren’t great together anymore.”

So who is Mary Lou Retton’s ex-husband? Here’s everything to know about Shannon Kelley and his relationship with the former gymnast.

He was a quarterback at the Univerity of Texas, Austin

After enrolling at the University of Texas, Austin in 1985, Kelley joined the football team as a quarterback. Though he saw limited playing time in his first two years, he became the backup quarterback during his junior year and played in a few games. He was then promoted to the starting role when he was a senior.

He worked in business

Following his graduation from UT Austin, Kelley went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, per a press release from the Houston Baptist University. He pursued a career as a partner in an investment firm and a real estate developer in the same city, before returning to his true passion: football.

He is now a college coach

Kelley got his opportunity to return to football when he became the quarterbacks coach at Fairmont State University in Fairmont, West Virginia, Retton’s hometown.

He worked with the Fighting Falcons for two years in the 2009 and 2010 seasons before leaving for Pennsylvania Western University, California where he was the director of athletic fundraising and the running backs coach.

Kelley returned to Houston in 2012 with a new position as Houston Baptist University’s offensive assistant coach.

“Shannon is a product of Houston high school football and has gone on to do great things with his life,” head coach Vic Shealy said in a press release. “This is a great opportunity for our program to have him come back to Houston, where he will not only be effective on the field, but also in recruiting and within in the community.”

They married in 1990

Retton and Kelley tied the knot in 1990, a year after meeting. Retton retired from professional gymnastics in 1986 and enrolled at UT Austin at the same time Kelley was a student there. They married just after they both graduated.

They have four daughters

Five years into their marriage, Retton and Kelley welcomed their first daughter, Shayla. Their eldest daughter graduated from Baylor University in 2017 with a degree in health science. She also was competitive in gymnastics in college, though she did not pursue it following graduation.

Shayla married Wyatt Schrepfer in January 2020 and has since developed a passion for bodybuilding, participating in various competitions since 2022.

McKenna, the pair’s second child, was born in 1997 and also followed in her mom’s footsteps. She attended Louisiana State University, where she helped her team earn second place at the 2019 NCAA Gymnastics Championship.

Retton and Kelley’s third daughter, Skyla, was born in 2000 and graduated from Texas Tech University in 2023. Though she did not compete in gymnastics, she was a cheerleader at school.

In 2002, the couple welcomed their youngest daughter, Emma. The youngest of the Kelley family attends the University of Arkansas, where she is part of the gymnastics team.

Though the girls share their passion for sports with their mother, they have their own special bond with Kelley. In a 2008 interview with Family Circle, Retton said that all the girls enjoy fishing trips with their dad.

Retton added that she loves seeing the “precious moments” Kelley shares with them as he becomes so “completely uninhibited” with the girls that, when they were little, “he’d let them put makeup on him” when they played dress up.

Years later, during her divorce from Kelley, Retton admitted that while the separation was hard on her daughters, they were ultimately her biggest support system.

“My daughters were amazing,” she told PEOPLE. “There’s that fine line between a daughter and a friend, so there’s a lot that I couldn’t share with them. They were angry in the beginning, and any child should be with their family being torn apart — but we’ve vowed that we would do holidays together and we’re going to try to make it as seamless and as painless as possible.”

“I don’t think they were surprised,” she added. “We were arguing towards the end a lot, but I think that they were shocked that it actually happened.”

They split in 2018

Retton announced the pair’s divorce while she was competing on DWTS in October 2018. She said they had officially split in February 2018 and told Extra that she “felt very alone” at the time.

She explained to PEOPLE that “there wasn’t one defining moment” that led to the divorce but instead, “it was that we grew apart.”

Retton added that she originally kept the split quiet because she is a private person, but ultimately she felt like she wanted to share the struggles she had been going through.

“I’m not one to air my dirty laundry, but for the entire show I kept talking about struggles and challenges and how I lost myself and all of that,” she said. “I just felt this is my chance to really be clear and to be transparent to people. That was a big part of my struggle the last few years — do I do it? You know, all the things that come with a divorce of that magnitude with such a large family. I just wanted to be authentic. I wanted to tell people why.”

As for whether she was ready to step back into the dating pool, Retton admitted that, at the time, she wasn’t quite there.

“I’m scared a little bit,” she said. “I hadn’t done that in over 30 years. I’m scared!”

“I guess I got to find myself a dancer, don’t I?” Retton added. “That would be really amazing if I found myself a dancer. I’m excited — scared, but excited.”

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