Mary Lou Retton Addresses Backlash Over Fundraiser for Her Medical Bills

Mary Lou Retton is addressing trolls who criticized her daughters for starting a crowdsourcing fund to pay her medical bills.

“They didn’t deserve that,” the retired Olympic gymnast, 56, told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, May 22. “They were just trying to take care of me. 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.”

Retton, who spent two weeks in the ICU in October 2023 while battling a rare form of pneumonia, added that her financial situation took a hit after her 2018 divorce from Shannon Kelley and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“[When] COVID hit, literally COVID hit — our job is to be near people and talk to them and so there was no work whatsoever,” she said of her speaking engagements slowing down. “Let’s say that the height of my fame was years ago and I [was] just doing enough to make it, doing enough to pay my bills.”

Celebrity Health Scares Through the Years

Retton shares daughters Shayla, 28, McKenna, 26, Skyla, 23, and Emma, 21, with Kelley. Shortly after Retton was hospitalized in October 2023, McKenna started a spotfund, which far exceeded its initial $50,000 fundraising goal.

Some fans criticized the crowdsourcing venture, questioning whether the family was really in dire need of financial assistance. Retton, however, insisted on Wednesday that all the funds will go to her medical bills or to the American Lung Association.

“You can’t imagine [the costs] from ambulance bills to everything. I couldn’t have done it without my daughters. I just couldn’t have. I mean, I don’t know where I’d be,” she said. “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.”

Retton also shared an update on her recovery.

Olympic Athletes: Where Are They Now?

“It’s a very long recovery, I’m still on oxygen, and I had a bit of a relapse a while ago, but I’m back and regulated. It’s just more discouragement than anything because, you know, patience isn’t one of my strong skill sets,” she said. “I’m tired of this thing up my nose. … I’m a speaker and haven’t been able to work because I don’t know if I can get up on stage and do an hour-long talk like I’ve normally done for 40 years. That’s frustrating.”

Despite her challenges, Retton is grateful to be alive and in awe of her daughters’ support.

“They were strong. I can’t imagine them seeing me on my deathbed, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that I was,” she said. “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.”