"She didn't pursue me, I pursued her" - Ryan Lochte defends girlfriend Molly Gillihan against ex-wife's cheating accusations

American Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, while speaking to Daily Mail in a recent exclusive interview, defended his new girlfriend, Molly Gillihan, amidst his ex-wife's cheating allegations.

Ryan Lochte, who is now dating, 37-year old kindergarten teacher and mother of three, Molly Gillihan, took to defend his new girlfriend, saying,

"Molly is true to herself. She has a big heart. She's a kindergarten teacher so she has the patience of a freaking saint. It's awesome being with her. We're just living our best lives and having fun."

He also clapped back at his ex-wife's cheating allegations, noting that he did not cheat on his wife at the time with the kindergarten teacher.

"There was no infidelity with Molly, like nothing. Molly didn't do anything wrong. She didn't pursue me, I pursued her."

He further added that he began his relationship with Gillihan after he was served divorce papers. Ryan Lochte met Molly while both of them were dropping their kids off at school.

"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."

What has Ryan Lochte's ex-wife Kayla Rae Reid said about the swimmer?

Ryan Lochte's ex-wife, Kayla Rae Reid, filed for divorce against him in March 2025. In her divorce petition, Kayla referred to her seven-year marriage with Ryan as "irretrievably broken". In a statement to PEOPLE earlier in June, Kayla, while opening up about their estrangement, said,

"This has been one of the most painful, revealing and challenging seasons of my life. I've been hesitant to share until I could do from a place of healing - not from fresh, open wounds."

A source close to the family, who knows the ex-couple claimed that Ryan cheated on Kayla,

"He's damaged so much of their marriage and he's broken her heart so many times that she doesn't know if reconcilation is in their future."

The source claimed that there have been recurrent problems concerning infidelity with Kayla keeping it all "under wraps" to protect Ryan and their marriage.

Lochte's new girlfriend, who finalized her own divorce last year, also mentioned that she was not interested in fame.

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"He pursued me some time after Kayla served him with divorce papers, and he was living on his own. Seeing how great of a dad he was is what attracted me to him."

Molly mentioned that she isn't aware of Ryan's Olympic history, and it was observing his parenting skills that made her want to give him a chance.

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