Actress Tatum O’Neal revealed to People magazine this week that since her relationship with John McEnroe, she has been dating mostly women.
While the 51-year-old mother of three does not necessarily identify as bisexual or lesbian, she did explain the motivation behind her new preference for women.
“I think women are the most amazing creatures on earth. … They’re gentle, and also more intelligent than the men that I’ve met recently,” she said.
O’Neal has yet to lock down a steady partner, but she told the mag she looks forward to it.
The actress, who battled substance addiction for many years, said she is currently happy, single, and sober.
“I’m the most content I’ve ever been,” said O’Neal, adding that she’s “the proudest mother in the history of the world.”
O’Neal was married to temperamental tennis star John McEnroe from 1986 to 1994. The couple share three children: Emily, 24; Sean, 28; and Kevin, 29.
Their oldest, Kevin, wrote a book recently about Tatum’s mother, Joanna Moore, who struggled with an addiction to pills.
Kevin, who also battled addiction, told People that writing the book helped him understand that addiction is not a choice, which is a common notion for a child.
“There’s definitely this sense when you are young, that you’re choosing this over us and I think real forgiveness came when I realized this wasn’t the case,” he said.
E Online reports that Kevin was arrested in New York last summer for buying what he thought was cocaine but was actually baking soda.
The charges were eventually dismissed, and Kevin checked into rehab shortly after. He said his experience later helped him empathize with his mother’s struggles with drugs.
“My biggest regret is ever trying heroin,” O’Neal confessed. “That stole so much of my life, but what I’m most proud of are my sweet children.”