Still-married Ryan Lochte debuted his new girlfriend on Instagram. Then came drama
Over the July 4 weekend Ryan Lochte wasn’t just celebrating America’s independence in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Olympic swimmer hard-launched a new relationship on social media. Did we mention he’s still married? Last month, his wife Kayla Reid and mother of his three kids, 33, announced she had filed for divorce.
In not one, but two Instagram carousels, Lochte showed off highlights of his holiday festivities, which Included pics of his brother, sister-in-law and little niece.
Oh, and his new girlfriend, 37-year-old kindergarten teacher/single mom Molly Gillihan, who is clearly tagged. The pair reportedly met during dropoffs at the school both their kids attend.
Was this the reason for Reid’s recent, cryptic note?
“Sometimes God allows the betrayal,” the Playboy model turned Realtor wrote on June 27, “because it leads to the breakthrough.”
In one of the gold medalist’s July 4 posts, he had the smarts to leave comments off, but in the other one, he failed to do so. That’s where a sizable chunk of the 40-year-old’s 1 million followers let it rip.
“What coincidental timing after your wife spoke about betrayal....”
“Right after she makes the announcement, he’s suddenly in a relationship? Rightttt.”
“Oh, wow, now we know the reason for the divorce.”
“This is vile. Your sense of timing is abysmal and thoughtless. I feel sorry for your kids.”
After all the online drama, Lochte decided to tell his side of the story to The Daily Mail. He says he began seeing Gillihan in March, after Reid filed in Gainesville, where they own a home.
“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,” the retired athlete told the outlet. “I want people to understand that Molly didn’t take me away from my ex-wife. She didn’t take me away from my kids.”
Lochte goes on to say that he moved down the street so that he could be closer to coparent their children.
“There was no infidelity with Molly, like nothing. 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.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 12:53 PM.
