Amid Divorce and Sobriety, Ryan Lochte Rededicates His Life to Jesus Through Baptism

Audio By Carbonatix

Ryan Lochte, the twelve-time Olympic medalist, announced last week that he was baptized as he rededicated his life to Jesus Christ amid personal challenges, including divorce and entering substance abuse rehabilitation this year.

"I love sharing my life with my fans and followers. In this season of growing, I have learned that the only thing that truly matters is what God thinks of me," Lochte wrote in a Nov. 2 Instagram post. "I made the decision to rededicate my life to Jesus and today I was baptized!"

“My heart is full of so much love and happiness and I’m just so thankful for everything God is doing and going to do in my life,” he added. “Thank you for all those who have loved and supported me throughout my life, you mean so much to me!”

Lochte’s post tagged Canvas Church in Alachua, Florida, where he was baptized, and also included a video of the baptism as well as photos of Lochte with his girlfriend, Molly Gillihan, and their children. According to The Christian Post, Lochte is the second most-decorated male Olympic swimmer in history, behind Michael Phelps. His baptism comes amid difficult personal seasons this year, including facing divorce from his wife, Kayla Rae Reid, after she went through a period of "deep prayer and reflection."

"I hold marriage in the highest regard, so this has been one of the most painful, revealing and challenging seasons of my life," Reid wrote on Instagram on June 4. "I believe God is still at work — even in the breaking, even in the unknown. I choose to believe that new growth can emerge from broken ground."

She later alleged in a September court filing that Lochte used drugs in front of their young children before their divorce.

"Shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the children because [Ryan] has a history of substance abuse and, upon information and belief, he is still abusing illegal controlled substances," Reid wrote in the court filing, according to People.

Rochte has previously been the subject of negative headlines over the years, including being suspended by the US Olympic Committee and USA Swimming in 2016 for 10-months and a 14-month suspension for a doping violation in 2018. At the same time, however, the Olympian swimmer has also had positive moments in his life. He shared in an August Instagram video that he had hit 54 days of sobriety and also noted he previously was in a "really dark place" after a 2023 near-fatal car accident that left him severely injured, depressed, and wanting to give up on life.

During a podcast interview with Swimmer World Magazine, Lochte shared how his faith grew following the accident.

"God was watching me, and he was like, 'It's not your time,'" he said.

He also attributed a recovery program for his rebound in life.

Photo Credit: Getty Images / Tom Pennington / Staff 

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.