His ex-wife alleges he cheated through pregnancies and postpartum, but 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte is breaking his silence to clear his name
Title: Ryan Lochte
Credit: Image by jdlasica
|
Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte is pushing back after his ex-wife accused him of cheating with his current girlfriend. The swimmer says the claims about Molly Gillihan are not true and insists their relationship only began after his marriage was already falling apart.
According to the Daily Mail, Lochte has maintained there was no overlap between his marriage and his new relationship. He said he reached out to Gillihan only after divorce papers were served and he was already living on his own.
The accusations came from Lochte’s ex, Kayla Rae Reid, who filed for divorce in March 2025. Reid made the comments on her podcast The Comeback Era with Caroline and Kayla, suggesting Lochte and Gillihan had been involved long before the separation. Shortly after the claims started circulating online, Gillihan posted screenshots of Instagram messages between her and Lochte to push back on the narrative.
She actually showed the DMs
Gillihan shared the screenshots on her Instagram account, saying the messages clearly show when their conversations began. One of the messages, dated late February 2025, shows Lochte reaching out while explaining that he and his wife were separating. In the message, he wrote that there was “no bad blood” but said it would be easier to explain everything over the phone.
Another conversation happened in April 2025, shortly after Reid filed for divorce on March 26. When Gillihan told Lochte he was “a married man,” he quickly replied that he was not and said they were already going through the divorce.
Gillihan posted the screenshots with the caption “I’ll just leave this here 🙂 #liesforclickbait,” clearly pushing back against the cheating allegations. Lochte also addressed the situation directly in a statement to People. He admitted he had not been faithful earlier in his marriage but insisted Gillihan was never involved in that behavior.
“I love Molly and the family we have so much and it breaks my heart to see Molly dragged into this,” Lochte said, adding that there was “not one time” they had an inappropriate relationship while he was still with Reid. Earlier this year, the 41-year-old swimmer confirmed he had moved into a new home with Gillihan.
Gillihan is a 37-year-old kindergarten teacher, along with her three children. The couple now shares what Lochte described as a blended household with six kids.
Reid’s comments have still fueled online debate about the situation. Relationships in sports can quickly turn messy when personal issues spill into the public, and fans begin dissecting every detail of a timeline. The discussion around Lochte’s situation is following that exact pattern as both sides continue sharing their version of events.
Still, Reid recently said Lochte is not the father their children “deserve,” while Gillihan appeared to respond with her own Instagram message encouraging followers to stay kind even when facing harsh criticism. The back-and-forth has turned what began as a divorce update into a very public dispute about timelines, relationships, and accountability.
Published: Mar 6, 2026 12:30 pm