Mary Lou Retton faces new fundraising scrutiny after daughter’s lavish wedding
If Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton thought she had put aside her recent controversies and garnered some positive publicity by allowing People magazine exclusive access to her youngest daughter’s lavish wedding, she was wrong.
That’s because some readers reacting to the People magazine story couldn’t help but bring up those controversies: Retton’s DUI arrest in May and the backlash that erupted when her four daughters solicited $500,000 in donations after revealing that the decorated athlete didn’t have health insurance and needed help paying medical bills for a life-threatening bout of pneumonia.
As People reported, Retton’s 22-year-old daughter, Emma Kelley, married her 24-year-old college sweetheart, Hudson Clark, a safety for the Las Vegas Raiders, at the “stunning Crape Myrtle Allee at the Dallas Arboretum.” The bride wore a strapless dress by designer Jenny Yoo, while she and her groom were supported by “a massive wedding party” of 15 bridesmaids and 15 groomsmen. The bridesmaids included Emma’s three sisters, Shayla, 30, McKenna, 28, and Skyla, 24, who all were involved in the sad and messy controversy related to their October 2023 spotfund.com campaign.
Following the ceremony, the newlyweds and their some 180 guests celebrated at a reception at Rosine Hall, the arboretum’s 5,000-square-foot event space, according to People. The group munched on hors d’oeuvres that included “caprese brochette, chicken quesadilla trumpets and mini brisket tacos,” followed by a sit-down dinner of chicken, roast beef and mashed potatoes. The wedding cake was designed to replicate the football stadium at the University of Arkansas, where the couple met.
“How much of the GoFundMe went to this?” One person asked in the comments section of the online People article. As previously noted, the online campaign was actually run through spotfund.com. Another person said, “I want to know who paid for the wedding because funny just a few years back her mom was so sick that they did a (spotfund.com).”
It’s true that most comments were positive, congratulating the newlyweds and telling them that the wedding looked “beautiful. But the criticism shows that Retton hasn’t put these past controversies behind her.
The Daily Mail also reported that there was concern she might not be able to attend the wedding. But the outlet also said she appeared in photos looking fit and healthy in a midnight blue gown, as she shepherded the many bridesmaids around the arboretum for wedding photos in the 94-degree heat.
Last month, Retton pleaded no-contest to driving under the influence in her West Virginia hometown in May and issued a public statement, apologizing for the “completely unacceptable” actions that led to her arrest.
“I take full responsibility for my actions,” the U.S. gymnastics legend said in her statement about her May 17 arrest, TMZ reported. “What happened was completely unacceptable. I make no excuses. To my family, friends and my fans: I have let you down, and for that I am deeply sorry.”
Retton was pulled over in Fairmont, West Virginia, where she was born. Now based in Texas, she was visiting her hometown for some reason. Retton was behind the wheel of a Porsche, and police said there was an “odor of alcohol” coming from her, the Daily Mail reported. she also slurred her words and had a bottle of wine on the passenger seat next to her.
Retton’s arrest continued a tumultuous couple years for the decorated athlete and media personality, who was once considered to be America’s sweetheart after winning the individual all-around gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In October 2023, Retton’s four daughters set up the online fundraiser, saying their mother was in the hospital “fighting for her life” and they needed help to cover her hospital bills. While the campaign earned $200,000 in its first day — and $459,000 total — some in the public and the media began to ask why someone as famous and, presumably, as wealthy as Retton didn’t have health insurance.
To her critics, Retton failed to adequately address these questions in interviews she gave after she left the hospital. On the “Today” show in early 2024, she said she simply couldn’t afford health insurance. She blamed her plight on the COVID-19 pandemic, her 2018 divorce and pre-existing conditions from multiple surgeries over the years from sports-related injuries.
But the Daily Mail subsequently obtained court records, which showed that Retton received $2 million in her 2018 divorce settlement from former Texas Longhorns quarterback-turned real estate developer Shannon Kelly, the father of her four daughters. She also was poised to potentially earn $2 million more in compensation over a legal dispute with the manufacturer of two metal hip replacements that went wrong.
Speaking of Shannon Kelley, some online presumed that the father of the bride picked up the tab for the wedding. It’s also possible that Emma Kelley received some of the goods and services for free or at a reduced cost, in exchange for promoting them on her social media and in the People magazine photos.