Ryan Lochte’s estranged wife, Kayla Rae Reid, is focusing on rebuilding amid the pair’s messy divorce.
Reid took to social media on Saturday, June 28, to share “reminders” she was “telling myself right now” after announcing she and the Olympian had filed for divorce on June 7.
“You’re stepping into the best chapter of your life — you just have to heal first,” Reid wrote across one selfie posted via Instagram, adding on another: “Sometimes God allows betrayal… because it leads to the breakthrough.”
A third read, “Most people have no idea what I’ve endured. Ignore their opinions. Truth always reveals itself.”
“Divorce isn’t the end of my story. It’s the beginning of my rebirth,” she explained in a separate slide., “I didn’t choose to be broken, but I’m choosing to rebuild.”
Reid also took to TikTok to share insight into her life post-split, sharing a video of herself smiling and waving with a caption that read, “Me acting normal while my personal life could be a Netflix drama.”
Reid announced the end of her and Lochte’s marriage on June 4.
“Earlier this year, I made the hard decision to end my marriage after deep prayer and reflection,” Reid wrote via Instagram at the time. “I hold marriage in the highest regard, so this has been one of the most painful, revealing and challenging seasons of my life. I’ve been hesitant to share until I could do so from a place of healing — not from fresh, open wounds.”
She added, “Sometimes we face trials we didn’t choose or see coming. And in those moments, we’re forced to make the hardest decisions to protect our peace, our children and our future. I’ve come to understand that staying isn’t always the most loving decision someone can make. For me, leaving was an act of love — for those around me and myself.”
The pair, who married in 2018, share three children: Caiden, 7, Liv, 5, and Georgia, 23 months.
“Living with transparency and authenticity has been how I have grown into the persona I am today,” Reid continued in her Wednesday statement. “I’ll continue to do so, while also protecting the parts of this journey that are private and unfolding in uncharted territory. 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.”
Hours after the divorce news made headlines, Us Weekly obtained court documents revealing that the twosome have more than $250,000 in debt. The docs indicated that the former couple have an unpaid balance of $99,696.09 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the years 2021 and 2022, in addition to a 2024 lien from the Fletcher Park Owner’s Association in Gainesville for $2,231.76, citing various “unpaid” fees, including “special assessments, late fees, costs of collection [and] attorney’s fees,” as well as a 2023 lien of $127,977.73 from nonprofit Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinic for unpaid bills. The records also showed Lochte reportedly owed $39,720.15 for care that took place in February 2024.
Us Weekly had reached out to Reid and Lochte for comment at the time.
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