Ryan Lochte is arguably one of the most successful swimmers to ever emerge from America. He managed to secure medals in all four of the Olympic games that he competed in. Furthermore, he won five medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making the event one of the most successful runs of his career.
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In a 2020 interview with Graham Bensinger, Ryan once discussed the difficulties he faced as a result of his parent’s divorce. While the athlete has managed to settle his differences with his father, the relationship with his mom still remains volatile.
Ryan Lochte did not speak to his mother in years
Upon being questioned how the period of divorce affected young Ryan, he said, “I wasn’t around a lot, I was in college.”
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“A lot of things happened in my life,” continued the swimmer. “At one point…we were all against someone, and later in life things changed,” stated Ryan. His father kept secrets about the divorce from him in order to protect him. “When it happened we were all on my mom’s side,” explained Lochte, “But then later on in life, when I told her she was gonna be a grandma, she said some very very hurtful things that kinda ended our relationship.”
“She just said some things to me and my wife…I can get over it but I just wanted an apology from her and she said that she will never apologize. She has nothing to say sorry for. From there on, I haven’t spoken to her in years,” said Ryan.
Lochte’s mom tried to defame him in public
The 12-time Olympic medalist is a self-proclaimed ladies-man. He was even a part of a show called ‘What would Ryan Lochte Do?’ which followed Ryan’s dating life. Ryan’s mother once stated that her son isn’t particularly interested in dating in an interview with the ‘Today Show’ in 2012. She said that Ryan was keener on one-night encounters. Later, Ryan had to defend his mother’s assertion.
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Ryan’s mother spoke bluntly about her son’s amorous adventures. In a subsequent interview, Ryan responded to Ileana’s comments by saying, “She meant I go on a lot of dates. She didn’t mean anything negative. She’s new to the whole media thing.”
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