Ryan Lochte Defends Decision To Auction Gold Medals

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 just lately determined to public sale off three of his gold medals. In his submit, Ryan additionally addressed the backlash he obtained after opening up concerning 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 for the reason that summer season of 2025.

In line with 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 displaying 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 determination, which got here amid information that the previous swimmer and his spouse have been going through a lawsuit from the HOA of their Florida neighborhood. The couple was accused of failing to pay charges on the almost $600,000 residence. Earlier than that, stories 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 services.

In his current post, Ryan defined that he determined to public sale a few of his medals for a larger 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 the planet. These medals? They have been simply the cherry on high 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 anything. “I’ve given away medals to followers and younger youngsters within the stands, as a result of it is by no means been nearly me. It is about inspiring the following era and serving to them chase their desires. The reminiscences, the arduous work, and the reference to all of you’re what I treasure probably the most.”

However that is not all Ryan confronted backlash over. In line with 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 time 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 without end disillusioned within the father I had change into.” Ryan famous that he’d change into depressed, inflicting him to show to substances to numb the ache. “Every single day, 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 residence.”

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 elevate him out of the darkish house 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 mentioned 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 totally 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.