Tatum O’Neal’s Son Pens Powerful Essay, Recalls Actress Being His Mother Until She Tried Heroin

Troubled Tatum O’Neal‘s son Kevin McEnroe has expressed forgiveness for his Oscar-winning mom, while recounting her past struggles with mental health and substance use.

Kevin, 39, is one of the Paper Moon star’s three adult kids with ex-husband and retired tennis great John McEnroe.

In an essay published in The Small Bow, Kevin shares some of his early memories of his mother, now 62 and sober, which include her sending him to buy cigarettes, him throwing away her drugs and her offering him a “line” if he desired.

He also differentiates her identity as a mother from what he calls her separate persona as “Tatum.”

Kevin explains, “When I was little, you were my mom, until your boyfriend gave you heroin.”

“You were my mom when you were clean, between rehabs, but then sometimes you were Tatum, too. … I used to think Tatum took my mom away. Now I think Mom and Tatum just wanted something different. I think Mom and Tatum didn’t always get along.”

Kevin also dishes details about his own sobriety journey, revealing that when he was in treatment, he was asked to “distance” himself from his mom while she was using.

The writer also says he was told to maintain “boundaries” with O’Neal — but feared if he ignored her call, she might die.

In 2020, Tatum suffered a near-fatal stroke, which was caused by a painkiller overdose, and was in a coma for six weeks. She later entered a treatment facility and had to relearn how to read, walk and talk, USA Today reported.

Kevin also claims afterward she “started drinking again,” while grappling with her pain and rheumatoid arthritis.

Shockingly, the candid son also confides then-boozing O’Neal told him a year and a half ago that she was suicidal, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to convince her “to want to live.”

According to Kevin, his mother has been sober since then — and he’s proud of her because he’s “never really seen” her “really try” at anything.

While admitting his own experiences have been different than those of the actress, he has realized they are “exactly the same.”

He concludes, “I’m proud to be Tatum’s son.”