John McEnroe's son Kevin remembers mother Tatum O'Neal's addiction struggle and what it did to Thanksgiving

John McEnroe and his ex-wife Tatum O'Neal's son Kevin recently cast his mind back to the two Thanksgivings he spent in treatment centers. The first time around, Kevin visited his mother, the American actress who struggled with drug addiction, particularly following her and McEnroe's bitter divorce in 1994.

On Sunday, November 30, three days after this year's Thanksgiving, Kevin shared a post authored by him on his Substack, titled 'Give Thanks, Stupid'. Here, he recalled how his mother looked unwell the first time he spent Thanksgiving in a treatment center with his brother Sean and sister Emily.

"I’ve spent two Thanksgivings in treatment centers. One, when I was about ten, to visit my mother. My brother and sister and I ate turkey from the cafeteria in a styrofoam box with the court-appointed companion watching. I don’t remember his name, but he had a big nose. My mother looked very thin," Kevin wrote.

John McEnroe and Tatum O'Neal's son Kevin went on to lay bare details of the second Thanksgiving he spent in a treatment center. This particular episode revolved around his own drug addiction struggles. After getting arrested for drug possession charges in 2014, Kevin underwent a drug treatment program and has since been clean.

"The second time I was in treatment, myself, for the third time and, knock on wood, the last. One day at a time, I suppose, but I never got that much from treatment. They spend a lot of time telling you it’s not your fault, and then making you talk about your emotions. To me it always felt like it was too much about me," he added.

"They told me Tatum O'Neal would never talk again" - John McEnroe's son Kevin reveals heartwarming exchange between him and mother more than 5 years after near-fatal stroke

Tatum O'Neal (left) and John McEnroe (right) with one of their children in 1987 (Source: Getty)

In May 2020, John McEnroe's ex-wife Tatum O'Neal suffered a near-fatal stroke following a prescription drug overdose. The severity of the stroke led to O'Neal entering a coma for six weeks. While she did eventually wake up, she was diagnosed with a severe language and communication disorder known as aphasia.

On his Substack, Kevin shared a positive update about O'Neal as she continues her recovery from the stroke. According to him, his mother sent him a text message on this year's Thanksgiving. Recalling how experts were quite pessimistic about O'Neal's chances of talking again in the aftermath of her 2020 stroke, Kevin wrote:

"Tatum had a stroke, and at one point she couldn’t talk, and they told me she never would again, so the fact that she can is a miracle. The fact that she can text is a medical mystery, and the fact that she cannot remember the word turkey but is able to heart react to iMessages is beyond my comprehension, but honestly so is most of my life, and I like it better that way."

Earlier this year, O'Neal even gave an interview to Variety, where she candidly touched on her survival despite her addiction struggles and the near-fatal 2020 stroke.