Not for the first time, Ryan Lochte was forced to address some shocking revelations. And, not for the first time, he chose to omit some rather crucial details.
Earlier this week, the Olympic swimmer’s wife, Kayla Reid, announced she had filed for divorce after seven years of marriage. In a statement on social media, the former Playboy Playmate detailed the pain of leaving Lochte.
They share three children (Caiden, 7, Liv, 4, and Georgia, 1) but Kayla maintained this was an ‘act of love’.
Lochte, 40, broke his silence shortly after. He ‘acknowledged’ what he and Kayla had ‘shared’, and insisted this is the ‘the right step toward peace and well-being for us both’.
‘I remain committed to healing, growth, and co-parenting with care and respect,’ he wrote.
But for all the talk of cooperation, trouble is simmering in court. As revealed by the Daily Mail last week, Lochte and Reid, 33, are fighting it out over the custody of their children. He has moved out of the family home and they’re both laden with $270,000 in various unpaid debts.
Now, in a new twist, and when looking for answers about the origins of this marital fallout, an insider points to 2016 – the year which appears to have marked the beginning of the end for the couple.
Ryan Lochte’s wife Kayla Reid has filed for divorce after seven years of marriage
Lochte, seen at the US Olympic Swim Trials in 2021, is a six-time Olympic gold medalist
Lochte and Reid are said to have met in 2016 before getting engaged that same year
During a remarkable career in the pool, Lochte won 12 Olympic medals, including six golds. He was a friend and rival of Michael Phelps. He was christened an ‘Olympic Sex Symbol’ and showered with endorsement deals. He remains one of the most decorated swimmers in history.
But everything in Lochte’s life leads to and from a gas station in Rio de Janeiro. Lochte ended up there while competing at the 2016 Olympics. He was heading back from a party to the athletes’ village when he and three teammates were robbed at gunpoint by thieves posing with police badges.
Or so he initially claimed. Soon, though, Brazilian cops had charged Lochte and accused him of making up the whole story. surveillance footage showed the athletes had, in fact, been challenged by security after allegedly vandalizing the gas station bathroom.
It was one of the most bizarre scandals in Olympic history and it started when Lochte’s mother claimed her son had been the victim of a robbery.
Rather than set the record straight, Lochte went further, detailing a remarkable ordeal. ‘We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over,’ he told NBC at the time.
‘They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground – they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m not getting down on the ground.
‘And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said: “Get down”, and I put my hands up, I was like “whatever”. He took our money, he took my wallet, he left my cell phone, he left my credentials.’
But before long, his story had unraveled. Two other Team USA swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were pulled off a flight and questioned by police. Another teammate, Jimmy Feigen, was briefly held before agreeing to pay a $11,000 donation to charity.
Lochte and Michael Phelps are pictured after the 4x200m relay at the Rio Olympics in 2016
Lochte had already left Brazil by the time the truth emerged and the story exploded. He apologized and admitted he was drunk. ‘I made a mistake and I definitely learned from this,’ he said. ‘They put on a great Games… and my immature, intoxicated behavior tarnished that a little.’
Alas, he could not outswim the tide of criticism and condemnation.
The swimmer was branded ‘The Ugly American’ and the ‘dumbest bell that ever rang’. He was accused of being ‘everything the world hates about Americans’. And that was just by his compatriots.
The Rio mayor joined the pile-on. ‘It’s a shame that they’re such weak characters, [and] that they have such personality flaws,’ Eduardo Paes said.
A few weeks later, when Lochte appeared on Dancing with the Stars, protesters stormed the stage. Sponsors dropped him and US swimming suspended him for 10 months. He also forfeited $100,000 in Olympic bonuses.
An insider has now told the Daily Mail that the incident in Rio sparked a downward spiral that Lochte has never been able to stop – and which, crucially, irreparably harmed his marriage.
The source said: ‘Ryan’s post-Olympic career didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped. He did Dancing with the Stars, had his own show and appeared on a few other TV shows, both reality and not, but it never went anywhere, and he was unable to connect with the American public the same way he was able to connect with them during his time in the Olympics.
‘His scandals didn’t help as it no longer made him a media darling in the endorsement world and over the years it is well documented that he has had some major money problems. He even appeared on a show a few years ago to try to get back on track.’
Unfortunately, it seems his romantic life has worn the worst stresses of that career spiral.
‘Those hard times were a major stress for his relationship, and that is a major reason he is getting divorced,’ our source said.
Kayla, seen in 2016 at Playboy Midsummer Night’s Dream party, was previously a Playmate
After Rio, Lochte never competed at another Games and, not long after returning to training, the swimmer was banned once more. This time, Lochte posted a picture of himself receiving an IV infusion.
The substance – said to be an over-the-counter Vitamin B complex – was legal. But the amount was above limits imposed by the US Anti-Doping Agency. And in July 2018, Lochte was banned for 14 months.
‘It’s devastating to my family about this because I definitely made myself a better person after Rio,’ Lochte said at the time.
‘I was feeling good. I was swimming fast. My son [Caiden] being born. Everything was happening. Everything was perfect, and then this happened.’
Lochte had long flirted with trouble. As a prospect he was regularly kicked out of practice for hiding or pulling pranks. ‘A pain in the butt,’ was how his father once described him.
Even ahead of the 2012 Olympics, when he was tipped to win a record haul of gold, Lochte still found time to smear muscle-rub cream inside his teammates’ shorts and wait for them to feel the burn.
At the London Games, he was accused of cultural appropriation after wearing custom grills over his teeth worth $25,000. He starred in a reality TV show – ‘What Would Ryan Lochte Do?’ – which offered viewers a glimpse into his wild lifestyle.
A second series was never made but the party went on. Prince Harry once challenged him to a late-night race at a Las Vegas pool party.
Lochte poses with his gold medal from Rio, where he medaled in the 4×200m freestyle relay
Donald Trump accused Lochte of being ‘all over’ Olivia Culpo ‘like a puppy dog’ after she won Miss Universe in 2012.
A few years later, Lochte spent the night at the Playboy Mansion. But, he insisted, ‘if I go out all night and I go dancing and I’m drinking, I still have a job to do.’
And by then, though, Lochte had developed a ferocious work ethic. At the junior Olympics, when he was 14, Lochte lost one too many times and decided he was sick of it.
It hasn’t been so easy to change the record out of the pool. Lochte needed knee surgery after suffering a breakdancing accident and he broke his ankle – three times – while skateboarding. A game of hide-and-seek with his little brother once ended with Lochte falling out of a tree and fracturing his shoulder.
Back in 2023, he nearly died after a car crash. He suffered a broken leg and ‘(it) nearly took everything from me—and for a long time, it felt like it had,’ Lochte later said.
‘I struggled to find myself again, sinking back into depression and doubting my worth as a father, a husband, and the person I knew I could be.’
The family filed a lawsuit over the crash before Lochte was sued by one of the other drivers. Now he is dealing with the debris of a broken marriage.
‘This past year has brought major changes for both of us,’ he said about his divorce
Lochte proposed to Reid in October 2016, during a private helicopter tour at the most turbulent time of his life. They tied the knot two years later, only for Kayla to file for divorce in March.
Sources say that Lochte hopes the separation can spark a new chapter. He has bold plans for his future.
They added: ‘Ryan is hoping that there is a silver lining with the divorce that he can get his life and finances back on track. He wants to use this rough patch he’s dealing with and turn it into something good.
‘Whether that means writing a book or getting another show. He wants to try to reinvent himself and use the upcoming 2028 Olympics as a catalyst on being an analyst, working and coaching more and being more of a talking head on TV, even with more sports than just swimming.
‘Now is the time to change his misfortune. All of this has matured him to a point where he has to figure out something, because as much as it is about getting his feet back on the ground, he has to support his kids, as that is what is really going to define the legacy he has put forth for himself.’
Lochte, who now hosts swim clinics with his father. He has plenty of lessons to share. From the pool and the choppy waters of life.
The Daily Mail contacted Lochte, members of his inner circle and his lawyer for comment.