Mary Lou Retton’s Daughter Welcomes First Baby: ‘The Lord…Answered Our Prayers’

Published: June 9, 2026

By Movieguide® Staff

Mary Lou Retton’s daughter McKenna Kelley just welcomed her first child, a baby girl.

“Jones Harper Doughty 🩷 8lbs 1oz, 21 inches 5/12/26,” Kelley and husband Braden Doughty shared in a joint Instagram post.

The post continued, “A full day & a half of labor that ended in a c-section and yet the Lord met us every step of the way. The birth we didn’t plan for became everything we could’ve asked for. The hardest 36 hours of my life led us to our sweet girl. She is everything and more. We love you Jonesie girl!”

Kelley wrote further about Jones’ birth in another Instagram post, sharing how her strong Christian faith helped her through a complicated birth.

“Our girl 🩷,” she captioned a post. “‘The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.’ Proverbs 16:9.”

The daughter of the former Olympic gymnast continued, “From the day we got two pink lines we prayed so intentionally for the birth we desired. I did all the prep, the courses for an unmedicated labor and delivery. 24 hours and 30 minutes of an unmedicated induction with just about every single intervention possible. My body just didn’t give, and we delivered miss Jones via c-section hours later.”

“On paper, not a single thing we specifically prayed for happened. But spiritually? The Lord met us through every contraction, every intervention and answered our prayers in a way that my ‘perfect birth’ couldn’t have,” she wrote. “It’s a funny thing to think that though we are parents now, we don’t stop being children of God. Braden, myself and Jones are all children of God, and I believe with every ounce of myself that our birth experience was designed for us to be the best parents for Jones, and for Jones, this is the beginning of her walk in life and with Christ.”

View this post on Instagram

In another post, Kelley shared how “intentional” God was during her pregnancy.

“Back in college, one of the ways I spent time with the Lord was through journaling. I have about 8 full journals documenting everything from breakups to tearing my Achilles — and throughout them, little notes written to my future daughter with the hope of giving them to her one day. I just knew in my heart I’d have a daughter someday,” she wrote. “About 6 months into my pregnancy, I was searching for something in my notes app when I came across another note I had written to our future daughter. As I reread it, my heart stopped when I noticed the date: May 4, 2025. Our due date? May 4, 2026”

Kelley continued, “The Lord was so intentional before we were even pregnant. He is a God who works in the whispers and in the details, and He knew Jones would be ours all along — long before we ever started a family. She was always meant to be ours.”

Congratulations to Kelley and Doughty on their new baby girl.

Questions or comments? Please write to us here.