Ryan Lochte is clearing the air after sparking a little bit of chaos on-line over the previous few weeks. In a prolonged Instagram submit, the Olympian clarified why he not too long ago determined to public sale off three of his gold medals. In his submit, Ryan additionally addressed the backlash he obtained after opening up in regards to the painful struggles he confronted throughout his marriage to his estranged spouse, Kayla Lochte. All of this comes amid the explosive divorce the pair have been embroiled in because the summer season of 2025.

Based on a earlier report from The Blast, Ryan left followers shocked in early December 2025 after revealing he was auctioning off three of his Olympic gold medals. An worker of Goldin Public sale Home in New Jersey shared a submit on Instagram exhibiting that the corporate had secured three of Ryan’s medals, which “tells a narrative of dominance, teamwork, and historical past.”

Ryan confronted important criticism over his resolution, which got here amid information that the previous swimmer and his spouse have been dealing with a lawsuit from the HOA of their Florida neighborhood. The couple was accused of failing to pay charges on the practically $600,000 house. Earlier than that, reviews surfaced revealing the pair was a number of hundred thousand {dollars} in debt, allegedly owed to companies and firms, together with the IRS and medical amenities.

In his current submit, Ryan defined that he determined to public sale a few of his medals for a higher trigger. “I by no means swam for the gold medals,” he famous. “My ardour has at all times been about being probably the greatest swimmers on this planet. These medals? They have been simply the cherry on prime of an unbelievable journey.”

Ryan shared that he is acquired 90 worldwide medals all through his profession, and doing one thing significant with them meant extra to him than the rest. “I’ve given away medals to followers and younger children within the stands, as a result of it is by no means been nearly me. It is about inspiring the subsequent technology and serving to them chase their goals. The recollections, the arduous work, and the reference to all of you might be what I treasure essentially the most.”

However that is not all Ryan confronted 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 season Video games, Ryan additionally alluded to deeply private challenges along with his estranged spouse.

He shared that after the Rio Video games, he discovered himself in a destructive headspace with a “son on the best way with somebody I barely knew, who consistently jogged my memory that he could be eternally upset within the father I had turn into.” Ryan famous that he’d turn into depressed, inflicting him to show to substances to numb the ache. “Daily, I woke as much as be belittled and reminded of my fixed failures, day in and time out, till I used to be finally kicked out of our household house.”

Ryan’s estranged spouse, Kayla, seemingly responded to the swimmer’s claims by sharing a video of Ryan reciting his vows throughout their September 2018 wedding ceremony. Within the clip, Ryan admitted that Kayla helped raise him out of the darkish area he was in after the Olympics earlier than sharing how excited he was for his or her future.

In his most up-to-date add, Ryan stated that he was conscious of the “backlash” and Kayla’s submit. “Whereas I respect that, I nonetheless stand by my perception that we did not absolutely know one another, and truthfully, I did not know myself or who I used to be. I’m very grateful for our three youngsters and the love we shared at the moment,” he wrote.