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Mary Lou Retton may not have won the mirror ball, but she leaves Dance with the stars to have won a personal victory.
"It's the moment of my life," said Retton, 50, after being eliminated.
In the sixth week of the reality show, Retton performed his latest dance, a tango, with his professional partner Sasha Farber. Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews, co-hosts, announced that Retton was threatened alongside his teammate Alexis Ren, but that it was the retired gymnast, Olympic gold medalist, who had been sent home him.
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Although his time in the series has come to an end, Retton is grateful for the way the series has pushed for more than one reason.
"I have not been a challenge for decades," Retton admitted to Bergeron, "and I challenged myself. I'm starting from scratch. "
In the Monday episode, the public learned that Retton had gone through one of the most difficult moments of his life this year: a divorce after nearly three decades of marriage.
"I had a divorce. People do not know it. This is the first time I'm talking about it in public, "she told Farber during the rehearsal.
"After 27 years," she said of her ex-husband, Shannon Kelley.
Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Kelley
Greg Mathieson / REX / Shutterstock
Retton, who married Kelley in 1990, said he had finalized his divorce in February, "so it's all new."
She admitted that the separation "was difficult".
"I felt very lonely," she told Farber.
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Although their marriage has ended, the athlete and his ex – they share the girls Shayla, 23, McKenna, 21, Skyla, 18, and Emma, 16 – are on good terms.
"It's something that really had to happen a long time ago," she said. "We still love each other, but we were no longer good together."
Since Retton joined DWTS, she learned a lot about the techniques of ballroom dancing – and about herself.
"When I came in, I knew I was doing it again and I was scared," she told Farber. "But now, I know I'm doing it again, but I'm excited."
Dance with the stars broadcasts Mondays (8 pm ET) on ABC.
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