Ryan Lochte Addresses Backlash About Estranged Wife Kayla and Selling His Olympic Gold Medals
Ryan Lochte is jumping into a sea of change.
Over a year after his wife Kayla Reid filed for divorce following seven years of marriage, the 12-time Olympic medalist announced a pivot in career, joining Missouri State University’s swim team as an assistant coach.
But the new job title isn’t Ryan’s only major change. Indeed, in the Instagram video revealing his teaching role, the swimmer appeared markedly different from his days in the pool at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Though the 41-year-old—dad to Caiden, 8, Liv, 7, and Georgia, 2, with Kayla—used to present a clean-shaven look and coiffed hair, he now dons scruffy facial hair and a spiked-up, gelled hairdo.
Plus, like Ryan’s appearance, his interests have changed over time.
“Over the last couple of years, something so unexpected happened,” he said in the May 10 video. “I might actually be more passionate about coaching than competing. Don’t get me wrong, I had a pretty good swimming career, but honestly, I think I might even be a better swim coach.”