In the mid-'80s, Smyth became friends with Valerie Bertinelli and her husband, Eddie Van Halen. When David Lee Roth left the band Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen invited Smyth to replace Roth as the band's lead singer. Smyth declined the offer, a decision she has said that she later regretted.

As well as recording success, Smyth has enjoyed significant notoriety for her personal relationships, with punk originator Richard Hell and her current husband, tennis star John McEnroe. Her marriage to Richard Hell resulted in a daughter, Ruby.

Following two solo albums in 1987 and 1992, she secured a further hit record via a duet with Don Henley of The Eagles; "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" peaked at number 2 in the US charts and went gold. Its parent album, Patty Smyth, also went gold and featured two other minor hits, "No Mistakes" and "I Should Be Laughing". She had previously recorded with Don Henley as a backing vocalist on several songs on his albums Building The Perfect Beast and The End of the Innocence.

She subsequently co-wrote the 1994 song "Look What Love Has Done", nominated for a Grammy after its inclusion on the soundtrack to Junior. Further soundtrack commissions resulted in her penning the theme tune, "Wish I Were You", to the 1998 blockbuster movie Armageddon.

As a result of her renewed popularity, Columbia issued a retrospective album, Greatest Hits -- Featuring Scandal. Two new songs were included, the most notable of which was "Carnival Lights". The song, co-written with Bob Thiele Jr., concerned her mother's years as a trapeze artist. Smyth set out to promote the album on an acoustic tour, employing ex-Bullet Lavolta guitarist Duke Roth as her sideman.

In 1997, Patty married John McEnroe, and had two more daughters Anna and Ava.