The divorce had already turned Kayla Reid’s life upside down. Then came one more shock: Ryan Lochte had found someone new, and she wasn’t a stranger!

Reid, 35, is now speaking publicly about the eight-year marriage for the first time in a detailed interview with PEOPLE. And one part of the story still appears to sting more than most: Molly Gillihan, Lochte’s new fiancée, was someone Reid once considered a friend.

The history made it a bitter pill to swallow. Reid says Gillihan had followed her on social media, sent encouraging messages, attended gatherings with her and even sought her help with a proposed children’s café. They also exchanged advice about careers, schools and life.

But everything changed as Reid’s marriage began falling apart… In June 2025, while Reid was in Las Vegas celebrating her son Caiden’s birthday, she sent Gillihan a furious message after learning she was dating Lochte. The exchange quickly turned bitter, with both women eventually telling PEOPLE very different versions of how their relationship with one another began and ended.

Reid says she had even confided in Gillihan during the early stages of her divorce.
“We had an hour and a half conversation on the phone,” she recalled. “And lo and behold, she was dating my husband.” For Reid, that revelation was particularly difficult because she says Gillihan had been encouraging her to move on and had told her she deserved someone better. “It’s honestly quite sick when I think about it,” Reid said.

Reid and Lochte’s relationship had already been unraveling long before Gillihan entered the picture. The pair first connected through Instagram in 2016, married in 2018, and went on to have three children: Caiden, Liv and Georgia.

But behind the family photos, Reid says the marriage became increasingly difficult. She has accused Lochte of repeated infidelity and substance abuse, while also describing years of self-doubt and emotional strain.

By early 2025, she says, she had reached her limit. After an ultimatum involving inpatient treatment and marriage counseling, Reid filed for divorce on March 26, 2025. The divorce was finalized on July 1, 2026.

What do Ryan Lochte and Molly Gilihan say about Reid’s claims?

Lochte has acknowledged that he made mistakes during the marriage, but he disputes some of Reid’s characterization of what happened. “Looking back, I wasn’t ready to be a husband or the man my family deserved at that point in my life,” Lochte told PEOPLE. “That’s on me.”

He also said he would not engage in a public back-and-forth over the divorce, stressing that his priority was protecting their three children.

The former Olympic champion has since become engaged to Gillihan. He previously denied that they had any involvement while he was married.

Gillihan has also pushed back against Reid’s description of their relationship, saying the two were never truly friends but “simply acquaintances who crossed paths occasionally.”

According to Gillihan, Lochte had contacted her in 2019 while still married. She says she rejected him at the time and did not communicate with him again during his marriage.

She says they only reconnected after Lochte was living independently and the divorce proceedings had begun. “I was incredibly hesitant,” Gillihan said, acknowledging his previous approach while married was an “obvious red flag.”
Eventually, however, the relationship developed.

For Reid, the pain of the divorce has not disappeared, but she says she is finally looking toward what comes next. She remains in Florida with the children, while Lochte has moved to Missouri, where he coaches college swimming.

The 12-time Olympic medalist’s career made him one of the most recognizable swimmers in the world. But away from the pool, his marriage has become a very different chapter of his life.

Reid, meanwhile, says she is ready to rebuild. “I get to have a second chance at life and love,” she said.