Olympic Swimmer, Who Let Down the US, Once Wanted to Disappear for Everyone’s Sake, but One Relationship Saved Him

Ryan Lochte is one of the finest swimmers of all time. The 38-year-old garnered global limelight from his exceptional performances. However, there was a time in his life when the legend wanted to escape from the world. Ryan Lochte secured his sixth Olympic gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016. However, his off-game activity grabbed more attention.

He claimed of getting robbed along with his fellow swimmers in Rio. Although, the interrogation revealed that Ryan was lying. He faced severe criticism, which affected his mental health. 

Ryan Lochte describes a dark phase of his life

Ryan Lochte was getting death threats for his actions. In an interview with Graham Bensinger in 2020, Ryan opened up on the impact of this hatred on his mindset. The legend lost all his confidence and started blaming himself for everything.  

He further described how he just wanted to vanish from this world to avoid misery. He mentioned having one such conversation with her wife. Ryan said, “I was like Kayla, if I would just sleep and not wake up it will be fine for everyone.” 

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Seeing the hatred Ryan was receiving, he started blaming himself for the heartbreak of millions. He wanted to go to some abandoned place where nobody would recognize him. “If I went to a remote island and just disappear, then everyone would be happy”, he added. 

Ryan’s wife had an important role to play

Ryan Lochte acknowledged his wife’s contribution to getting over that phase of his life. Although Kayla and Ryan had been dating for a few months then, she still stood by his side. He said, “She stuck with me through this.” He mentioned that Kayla was his constant companion. Kayla kept motivating him and calming him down. 

Ryan further added that the support of his wife was the only good thing back then. He considered the scandal to be the ultimate test of their relationship. “If this didn’t happen, we probably wouldn’t have got married”, he admitted. Lochte finally was able to get out a silver lining from the misery. 

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