Despite their fallouts and fractured relationship, Ryan O’Neal and his daughter, Tatum O’Neal, had a close-knit relationship towards the end of his life. Seven months prior to his death, Tatum shared a picture of the both of them with the caption, “Happy birthday, dad, I love you” on Instagram.
The rare picture shows Ryan and Tatum closely sitting with beautiful smiles across their faces and Tatum holding on to her cute dog with her other arm. Fans spotted a detail in the photo that convinced them that the father-daughter duo had made up and completely forgiven each other. “So cute to see your Dad with a picture of Farrah over his bed,” a delighted fan wrote.
Ryan and Tatum’s relationship
Their fractured relationship began when Tatum was 16 and Ryan started dating Farah Fawcett. Even though father and daughter had earlier starred in a movie, Paper Moon, which earned Tatum an Oscar, making her, at age 10, the youngest person to win an Oscar, that common fact didn’t salvage their situation.
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It was not until a year after Farah died in 2009 that their relationship was restored. “She brought us back together,” Tatum admitted. “He told me he’s sorry. He’s all I have in terms of family, and I needed him in my life. My dad was absolutely everything to me.”
The Fallout Nearly Altered Tatum’s Life
“I feel very lucky that I survived. I’ve fallen down along the way, but I’ve always gotten up,” she said, referencing her struggles with addiction and drug abuse. Tatum has done well for herself with three beautiful kids she had with her ex-husband, John McEnroe. Her children are proud of her for reconciling with her father before his death. Her son, Sean McEnroe, posted a picture of them together with Ryan and a thoughtful caption.
2010.
4/17/10
Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal at the 8th Annual TV Land Awards.
(Culver City, CA)
***Not for syndication in France!***
“This is one of the most memorable photos of my life,” Sean wrote on Instagram. “The last time we were all together was at the 30-year Paper Moon Anniversary in 2003. I could cry tears of gratitude that everyone in this photo is still alive and that we were all able to come together again after so many years of hardship. The entire West Coast is burning, but if the O’Neals can reconcile, truly anything is possible.”