Olympian Mary Lou Retton’s Daughter Skyla Welcomes First Baby

Olympic Gymnast Mary Lou Retton Addresses Health Battle

Mary Lou Retton is vaulting into her next chapter as a grandma.

The Olympian’s daughter Skyla Kelley has welcomed her first child, a baby girl, according to People.

“I’m going to be a LouLou,” Mary Lou told the publication about her preferred nickname. “I don’t want to be a Mimi, a Gigi, or a Nana. A LouLou!”

And the 56-year-old is planning all the ways she’s going to “spoil the heck out of” her granddaughter, and any future grandchildren, joking that it’s something she “did not do to my kids!”

“I’ll spoil them,” she continued, “and when they come over I’ll just play with them, hide and seek, all of it. It’s going to be LouLou’s time!”

The family first shared the news of Skyla’s pregnancy in May when the 24-year-old was seen sporting a baby bump while celebrating her 22-year-old sister Emma’s graduation from the University of Arkansas.

But the family milestone comes amid a difficult year for Mary Lou—who also shares daughters Shayla, 29 and McKenna, 27, with ex-husband Shannon Kelley—as she was hospitalized with a rare form of pneumonia in October.

“She is not able to breathe on her own,” McKenna shared at the time. “She’s been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details.” 

Shayla Schrepfer/Instagram

And looking back on the ordeal now, the legendary gymnast can’t believe she’s still alive.

“I am so grateful to be here,” she told Today in January. “I am blessed to be here, because there was a time when they were about to put me on life support.”

Following her recovery, Mary Lou received a very special message from her former Olympic gymnastics teammates—Michelle Dusserre, 55, Pam Bileck, 55, Tracee Talavera, 57, Julianne McNamara, 58, and Kathy Johnson, 64—during The Kelly Clarkson Show July 25.

Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Buca, Inc.

Michelle said she was glad Mary Lou was on the mend, and told her to “keep getting better.”

Kathy added, “We have your back. Always have, always will. You got this.”

And the moment was clearly very emotional for Mary Lou, who said the video message was “so special,” especially as she and her team are still so close.

“Of course, that was 40 years ago, and we’re still best friends, still sisters,” she noted. “We’ve helped each other go through life, you know, the good and the bad, seeing each other through that and always supporting one another.

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