Ryan Lochte‘s ex-wife, Kayla Reid, has made candid comments about their failed marriage of eight years.
In a new interview, the 35-year-old realtor, who finalized her divorce from the Olympic swimmer last year, revealed how she learned he was dating her former close friend, Molly Gilihan.
However, Ryan Lochte and Gilihan have pushed back on Kayla Reid’s allegations, insisting their romance only blossomed after the marriage was over.
Reid had thought she was leaving behind a toxic marriage when she filed for divorce from Lochte on March 26, 2025, only to discover later on that a supposed friend of hers had been circling her soon-to-be ex-husband.
“I’ll use the term ‘friend’ lightly,” Reid said of Gillihan during a chat with People Magazine, pointing out that both of them had exchanged invites to happy hours and Mother’s Day parties, and even discussed business plans together.
According to Reid, she had at one point helped Gillihan “with some real estate work,” noting that they had “a ton of mutual friends. She followed me on every social platform and would often send me encouraging messages and want to hang out.”
Unfortunately, those friendly gestures went down the drain when she discovered Gillihan was seeing her husband, and doing so while offering Reid emotional support over her marriage struggles.
At the time, Lochte and Reid were already facing serious challenges and had a fraught relationship.
Kayla Reid Says It’s ‘Quite Sick’ How Her Former Friend Comforted Her During Her Divorce From Ryan Lochte
Reid went on to claim that Gillihan was very aware of what she was going through, and even made an effort to comfort her while encouraging her to move on from Lochte.
The real estate agent shared that her ex-friend spoke negatively of Lochte, claiming she “deserved better” than the famous swimmer.
“It’s honestly quite sick when I think about it,” Reid told the publication, remembering how Gillihan, when they were friendly, was “encouraging me (after filing for divorce) that I will find an amazing man and complimenting how beautiful and lucky I was, and how he, Lochte, was a coward and how I deserved so much better.”
According to Reid, she even “confided” in Gillihan early on in her divorce process, and before the public had caught wind of the split from Lochte.
“We had an hour and a half conversation on the phone,” Reid recalled. “She knew a lot of the struggles that I was dealing with. And she had gone through some similar stuff. … And lo and behold, she was dating my husband.”
Kayla Reid’s Bitter Texts With Molly Gillihan
Reid and Gillihan have had very bitter exchanges over the alleged timeline of Gillihan’s romance with Lochte.
Last June, while celebrating son Caiden’s eighth birthday in Las Vegas, the real estate agent had sent a text to Gillihan calling her a “desperate piece of sh-t.”
“Want to explain?” Gillihan replied at the time, adding a question-mark emoji: “Or just wanted to send that.”
This prompted Reid to furiously respond, “No need. I think you have a few brain cells.”
About two weeks later, Gilihan called Reid, which led to another tense exchange: “Wrong Lotche,” Reid texted back the next morning, to which Gilihan replied, “Nope, but let’s stop this back and forth”
The texts are just a fraction of the evidence she had collected, with the aim of narrating her own side of the story.
Molly Gilihan Has A Different Story To Tell
Gilihan, however, is having none of it with Reid’s narrative. She told People that Lochte reached out to her while he was still married, and she made it clear to him that she had no interest in pursuing a married man.
“After that, I never spoke to Ryan during the course of his marriage,” she noted.
In 2025, Gillihan recalled Reid calling to ask if Lotche had been seeing her. “I mostly just listened because I know how painful divorce can be”
“Looking back, I wish I had never taken that phone call,” Gillihan added. “At the time, I felt for both her and Ryan, and I wanted to be certain their relationship was truly over before I allowed myself to even consider anything.”
Molly Gillihan Says Ryan Lochte Has Become A ‘Strong’ And ‘More Honest Man’
Regarding her romance with Lochte, Gillihan praised the Olympian for being able to learn and grow from his past mistakes, noting she was initially “incredibly hesitant” to date him.
“Behind closed doors, we’ve had many difficult conversations and didn’t know if I could be with someone with his past actions in his marriage, but it honestly made him and I stronger and lean on each other.”
“I’ve watched him put in the work to become a stronger, healthier, and more honest man,” she said of her fiancé.
Lochte proposed to Gilihan in June 2025, and after he was done with his divorce process with Reid in early July, he shared with People that he was excited for their wedding plans.
“It’s so crazy this is happening so fast, our connection, but we can’t hide it,” Lochte said at the time.
Reid, on the other hand, is also moving on from her bitter split with Lochte as she is “rebuilding her life.”
Unlike Lochte and Gillihan, who have relocated to Missouri, Reid remains a resident at Gainesville, Florida, and has primary custody of the children she shares with the swimmer.
