Ryan Lochte is clearing the air after sparking a little bit of chaos online over the previous couple of weeks. In a lengthy Instagram post, the Olympian clarified why he recently decided to auction off three of his gold medals. In his post, Ryan also addressed the backlash he received after opening up in regards to the painful struggles he faced during his marriage to his estranged wife, Kayla Lochte. All of this comes amid the explosive divorce the pair have been embroiled in because the summer of 2025.
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Ryan Lochte Says He Auctioned His Gold Medals For A Greater Cause
Based on a previous report from The Blast, Ryan left fans stunned in early December 2025 after revealing he was auctioning off three of his Olympic gold medals. An worker of Goldin Auction House in Recent Jersey shared a post on Instagram showing that the corporate had secured three of Ryan’s medals, which “tells a story of dominance, teamwork, and history.”
Ryan faced significant criticism over his decision, which got here amid news that the previous swimmer and his wife were facing a lawsuit from the HOA of their Florida neighborhood. The couple was accused of failing to pay fees on the nearly $600,000 home. Before that, reports surfaced revealing the pair was several hundred thousand dollars in debt, allegedly owed to businesses and corporations, including the IRS and medical facilities.
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Ryan Lochte Says The Medals Weren’t As Meaningful To Him
In his recent post, Ryan explained that he decided to auction a few of his medals for a greater cause. “I never swam for the gold medals,” he noted. “My passion has all the time been about being top-of-the-line swimmers on the earth. Those medals? They were just the cherry on top of an incredible journey.”
Ryan shared that he’s acquired 90 international medals throughout his profession, and doing something meaningful with them meant more to him than anything. “I’ve given away medals to fans and young kids within the stands, since it’s never been nearly me. It’s about inspiring the following generation and helping them chase their dreams. The memories, the exertions, and the reference to all of you’re what I treasure probably the most.”
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Ryan Lochte Writing A Memoir, To Feature Stories About A Relationship That ‘Reminded’ Him He Wasn’t Enough
But that is not all Ryan faced backlash over. Based on The Blast, Ryan revealed he was writing a memoir about his life. Along with writing about his Olympic profession and his dramatic fall from grace after the 2016 Summer Games, Ryan also alluded to deeply personal challenges together with his estranged wife.
He shared that after the Rio Games, he found himself in a negative headspace with a “son on the best way with someone I barely knew, who consistently jogged my memory that he can be ceaselessly dissatisfied in the daddy I had turn into.” Ryan noted that he’d turn into depressed, causing him to show to substances to numb the pain. “Day by day, I woke as much as be belittled and reminded of my constant failures, day in and time out, until I used to be eventually kicked out of our family home.”
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Ryan Clears The Air On What He Meant By His Statements
Ryan’s estranged wife, Kayla, seemingly responded to the swimmer’s claims by sharing a video of Ryan reciting his vows during their September 2018 wedding. Within the clip, Ryan admitted that Kayla helped lift him out of the dark space he was in after the Olympics before sharing how excited he was for his or her future.
In his most up-to-date upload, Ryan said that he was aware of the “backlash” and Kayla’s post. “While I respect that, I still stand by my belief that we didn’t fully know one another, and truthfully, I didn’t know myself or who I used to be. I’m very thankful for our three children and the love we shared at the moment,” he wrote.
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Ryan Credits Mental Health Resources For Guiding Him During Difficult Time
Ryan further stated that “therapy” has been an incredible resource for him amid his and his wife’s ongoing divorce. “I’m making an incredible effort to separate myself from the past, as I’ve truly moved on.”
Continuing, Ryan acknowledged the hurt he’s caused others prior to now, “including the mother of my children.” Based on the “Traitors” alum, he’s working on himself “each day” and asked the general public for “outstanding and beauty.”
He finished by telling his followers that, while he planned to proceed speaking about his life, he “will refrain from discussing matters pertaining to my previous marriage.”