“Hibernating at a Friend’s House”: Emotional Michael Phelps’ Mother Was Forced to Stay Out of Her Own House During the Devastating Time of His Infamous Arrest

One should not judge a book by its cover. Everyone’s mind is embedded with the smiling image of Michael Phelps holding the medals. But the road to that glory was never easy! Having faced hardships, Phelps faced a lot of challenges. His achievements earned him fame, and with fame came undue attention.

Thus, what could have passed as a common occurrence, became a National headline because the person involved was Phelps. However, it was not just Phelps who was affected by the incident. Even his family, especially his mother, had to bear the heat of it.

Phelps’ mother spoke about the traumatizing event

 Mrs. Debbie Phelps raised her three kids single-handedly. She never “missed a day’s work,” despite facing multiple challenges. However, there was one such incident that took her “almost a whole week to go back to work.”

When Phelps was arrested for driving the car intoxicated in 2014, it created headlines. The Olympic gold medalist was accused of speed driving and crossing the double lines inside the Baltimore tunnel. Facing 18 months of supervised probation and a one-year suspended jail sentence, the phase was undeniably difficult for Phelps.

Read More: Michael Phelps’ Mother Didn’t Appreciate ‘Complaining’ Teachers Pulling Him Down Due to His ADHD Issues From a Young Age: “Wasn’t Going to Keep My Mouth Entirely Shut”

Even for Debbie, that phase was also terrible. Recalling that time, she says she was “hibernating at a friend’s house, crying my eyes out.” Speaking of the incident, Debbie says that she was shaken. Managing regardless of all the ups and downs, Debbie somehow managed to “show up on time” always. But during that time, she simply could not!

How did Michael Phelps react to the whole thing?

For Phelps, that time was perhaps one of the darkest phases of his life. Expressing his regret, he confessed that he “made a bad mistake.” 

Because of the unfortunate events, he was suspended for six months by the concerned authorities. For the unversed, Phelps’ was then eyeing a spot on the U.S team for the 2016 Olympics. He was also barred from representing the nation at the 2015 FINA World Swimming Championships in Russia.

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However, recovering from the difficult phase, Phelps worked on himself and again proved himself by winning Gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics.