Ryan Lochte’s ex-wife, Kayla Rae Reid, is firing back after his fiancée, Molly Gillihan, publicly discussed her children and their custody agreement without her permission.
“I find it deeply disturbing that someone who has seemingly spent years studying my life, inserting herself into it, and attempting to replicate aspects of it continues to make me and my children a topic of public conversation,” Reid, 35, exclusively told Us in a statement on Tuesday, October 20, referring to Gillihan, 37.
Reid added, “The irony of being called a narcissist by someone who appears so relentlessly preoccupied with me is not lost on me.”
Reid — who shares son Caiden, 9, and daughters, Liv Rae, 7, and Georgia June, 3, with Lochte, 42 — explained, “I filed for divorce. I chose to leave my marriage. I have absolutely no interest in revisiting it, competing with anyone for it, or participating in whatever bizarre narrative is being created to make someone else feel relevant.”
She then directed her remarks to both Lochte and Gillihan, who got engaged in October 2025.
“While they are busy discussing me, I am busy raising three children and carrying nearly all of the physical and financial responsibilities that come with that,” Reid claimed. “I don’t have the luxury of making someone else’s life my occupation.”
The mother of three continued, “If I had the same amount of free time and disposable income, perhaps I would be spending it exploring my legal options rather than repeatedly asking for basic boundaries to be respected.”
Reid noted that she “worked incredibly hard to build a peaceful, happy life outside of that marriage” after she and Lochte parted ways in March 2025. (Their divorce was finalized in July.)
“I have no desire to be dragged back into the dysfunction I made the conscious decision to leave,” Reid said, insisting that she doesn’t “want my former marriage back,” nor does she “want to be involved” in Lochte and Gillihan’s relationship.
Furthermore, Reid was adamant that “I do not want to be discussed, monitored, contacted under false pretenses, or used as a story line. And I certainly do not want my children used for public attention.”
“At some point, the obsession needs to end. I have moved on. I suggest everyone else do the same,” Reid concluded. “Leave me and my children alone. It really is that simple.”
Lochte told Us he had no comment on Reid’s remarks.
Reid’s statement comes after Gillihan was asked during an Instagram Q&A whether Lochte “sees his kids” as he and Gillihan live in Springfield, Missouri, and Reid, the kids’ primary guardian, resides in Florida.
“[He sees them] every month and we will have them here Christmas break, spring break and most of the summer. But it’s definitely not enough,” Gillihan replied earlier this month. “We miss them like crazy and praying this is just a season.”
Reid clapped back at the comment on Monday, October 19, via her Instagram Story, claiming that Gillihan had the details of her and Lochte’s custody agreement wrong. She stated that their three children stay with Lochte “one month” out of their two and a half month summer break and she and Lochte divide custody “equally” during the holidays.
“At this point, the continuous desperation for attention is overwhelmingly obvious,” Reid wrote at the time. “And while I recognize that publicly discussing me may generate the attention she’s never received, I would appreciate being left out of it.”
She pointed out, “I have three actual children to raise. So, for what feels like the hundredth time, please leave me and my children alone. Publicly and privately.”
Lochte told Us in a statement on Monday, “We do miss the kids and love them very, very much. We can’t control the narrative that Kayla is and has created for over a year.”
The 12-time Olympic medalist also addressed why he deleted his first social media post responding to Reid, saying in a second Instagram Story upload on Monday that Gillihan “asked me to” in order to help protect his “peace.”
“Please, please understand the effects of smear campaigns, public shaming and online bullying,” Lochte, who has been vocal about his mental health struggles, further explained. “In 2016, I reached a point where I didn’t want to live. I know how painful this can become. Our lives and mental health matter, and the bullying needs to stop.”
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