Ryan Lochte is calling out his estranged wife for insinuating that he cheated on her with his new girlfriend.
Lochte, 40, went Instagram official with Molly Gillihan over the weekend, one month after Kayla Rae Reid announced she had filed for divorce from Lochte after seven years of marriage.
Reid recently posted an inspirational quote via her Instagram Story, which read, “Sometimes God allows the betrayal…because it leads to the breakthrough.”
“I want people to understand that Molly didn’t take me away from my ex-wife,” Lochte told the Daily Mail on Monday, July 7. “She didn’t take me away from my kids. We got a divorce and I left. I moved down the street because I wanted to be in my kids’ lives and I will always be in my kids’ lives.”
Lochte and Reid got married in 2016 and welcomed three children together: son Caiden in 2017 and daughters Liv and Georgia in 2019 and 2023, respectively.
“’There was no infidelity with Molly, like nothing,” Lochte continued. “Molly didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t pursue me, I pursued her. It was after I got served with the divorce papers. I was out of the house and living by myself. It was all after the fact.”
He added, “Kayla has blocked me on social media. She’s the one that wanted this divorce in the first place and now she’s playing this pity party.”
Reid filed for divorce in March, claiming the marriage was “irretrievably broken” in court documents.
Despite the divorce filing coming earlier this year, Lochte insisted he and his estranged wife had been “having complications for a long time.”
“What people don’t really realize is that me and my ex haven’t really been together for a very long time,” he alleged. “Basically, since my littlest girl was born, which was around two years ago.”
Reid and Lochte’s youngest daughter, Georgia, was born in June 2023.
Lochte met Gillihan, 37, a kindergarten teacher, at the Gainesville, Florida, school attended by his two eldest children, Caiden and Liv. Two of Gillihan’s children attend the same school.
“She has the patience of a freaking saint,” Lochte gushed. “It’s awesome being with her. We’re just living our best lives and having fun.”
Gillihan, who finalized a divorce of her own earlier this year, said she is “extremely happy” in her new relationship.
“He pursued me some time after Kayla served him with divorce papers and he was living on his own,” Gillihan explained.
Gillihan was “attracted” to Lochte’s parenting skills but admitted she was not super knowledgeable about the 12-time Olympic medal–winning swimmer’s career in the pool.
“I do not know much about his history in swimming but when I saw how he was with his kiddos I decided to give him a chance,” she said.
A source exclusively told Luxury Handbag Shopping that Reid had “trust issues on her end” before she filed for divorce from Lochte.
“Ryan betrayed Kayla’s trust in numerous ways,” a second insider said.
Luxury Handbag Shopping has reached out to Lochte’s lawyers and Reid for comment.
