Kayla Rae Reid has criticised Ryan Lochte’s fiancée, Molly Gillihan, accusing her of making the former couple’s children and custody arrangements a subject of public discussion.
Reid, Lochte’s ex-wife, said Gillihan’s “obsession” with her needed to end and called for herself and her three children to be left alone.
“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 said in a statement.
“The irony of being called a narcissist by someone who appears so relentlessly preoccupied with me is not lost on me.”
Reid said she had filed for divorce and had chosen to leave her marriage to the Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer. “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 said.
She also claimed she was raising the children while carrying “nearly all of the physical and financial responsibilities” involved.
“I don’t have the luxury of making someone else’s life my occupation,” Reid said. She added that she had worked hard to build “a peaceful, happy life” away from the marriage and had no wish to be drawn back into what she described as dysfunction.
“I do not want to be discussed, monitored, contacted under false pretences, or used as a story line,” she said. “And I certainly do not want my children used for public attention.”
She concluded: “At some point, the obsession needs to end. I have moved on. I suggest everyone else do the same. Leave me and my children alone. It really is that simple.”
The remarks followed an Instagram question-and-answer session in which Gillihan was reportedly asked whether Lochte saw his children, who live in Missouri and Florida with Reid, their primary guardian.
“[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 said. “We miss them like crazy and praying this is just a season.”
Lochte and Reid separated in the summer of 2025 after seven years of marriage. A month after announcing their divorce, Lochte made his relationship with Gillihan public and denied rumours that he had been unfaithful.
Lochte and Gillihan moved in together earlier this year, and he proposed to her in June. Lochte said he had no comment on Reid’s statement when approached.
In April, Reid shared what she described as an email from Lochte in which he allegedly said Gillihan was “a ten times better mother” than her.
