Ryan Lochte moved in with his new girlfriend and her three children just nine months after his estranged wife filed for divorce.
The former Olympic swimmer said the decision was the “right next step” after splitting from Kayla Reid, with whom he was married for seven years and had three children, Kaiden, eight, Liv, six, and Georgia, two.
“I fell in love with someone who shared the same values and had three children of their own,” he told People Thursday.
“Together, we are a family with six children. She is my best friend and our children have an incredible bond. And it became clear that being together under one roof was the right next step for all of us.”
“We needed a larger home to support our blended family. We are focused on creating a loving and stable environment for all of our children,” he added.
“Everything I’ve done over the last 10 months has been for my kids and to be the best father I can be for them,” Lochte continued. “That meant putting in the work, going to rehab, rededicating my life to Christ, going to therapy, putting my kids first and making changes.”
“I’m grateful that because of that growth, I now get to spend time with my kids 50% of the time,” he added.
The 12-time Olympic medalist also shared two photos of himself and girlfriend Molly Gillihan inside his new home via Instagram on Wednesday.
“Home Sweet Home 🏠 #moveinday,” Lochte captioned the snap.
The two began dating in July after Lochte posted a photo of the two hugging on Instagram.
More cozy photos showed Gillihan with her arm resting on his chest, and the pair laughing and cuddling together on the couch as they celebrated Independence Day.
Lochte, 41, shared the snap just a month after Reid, 33, announced their breakup in a lengthy Instagram post.
“After much prayer and consideration, I have made the difficult decision to end my marriage,” she began.
“This has been one of the most painful, revealing, and challenging seasons of my life because I put my marriage first,” Reed continued, explaining that she took her time to process the breakup so that it came “from a place of healing, not from a new open wound.”
Reid concluded that she is choosing to give herself “grace” and choose “resiliency” as she moves into “uncharted territory.”
She filed for divorce on March 26, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.
Since announcing their split, Reid has hinted at “betrayal” in their marriage and accused Lochte of inhaling nitrous oxide in front of their children.
“Because[Ryan]has a history of substance abuse and, based on information and belief, he continues to abuse illegal controlled substances, sharing parental responsibility would be detrimental to the children,” she argued in court documents obtained by Us Weekly in an effort to obtain sole physical custody of the children.
Reed also claimed that she found “nearly empty bags of cocaine around the couple’s home” and that Lochte often “fell asleep during the day” due to his alleged drug use.
In a statement to Us Weekly, Ryan admitted to having a problem with drug use, but denied ever taking drugs in front of his children.
A week after Reid’s allegations, Lochte announced that he had entered a rehab facility.
“I wanted to share some positive updates in my life and what’s going on right now,” Lochte told her Instagram followers in September 2025. “I’m so happy right now. The biggest reason is that I’ve been sober for 54 days. That’s right!”
