Ryan Lochte’s ex-wife Kayla Reid says discovering that his new fiancée, Molly Gillihan, was someone already in her social circle made the end of their marriage even more painful.
In a new PEOPLE interview, Reid said she and Gillihan had mutual friends in Gainesville, Florida, exchanged invitations and personal advice, and spoke about Reid’s marriage as it was falling apart. Reid now claims Gillihan was dating Lochte “behind my back.”
The dates have become central to the disagreement. Reid officially filed for divorce from Lochte on March 26, 2025, while Lochte and Gillihan mark April 9 as their anniversary. Gillihan says she did not allow herself to consider a relationship until Lochte was living independently and divorce proceedings had already begun.
Lochte and Gillihan made their relationship public in July 2025 and became engaged in June 2026. Reid and Lochte finalized their divorce on July 1 after eight years of marriage and three children.
Reid Says Gillihan Was in Her Circle Before the Romance
Reid said they moved within the same Gainesville social circle and that she uses the term “friend” lightly. According to Reid, the two women traded invitations to happy hours and Mother’s Day gatherings and exchanged advice about local schools, career changes and other personal matters. Reid also said she helped Gillihan when she was considering opening a children’s café, including offering assistance related to real estate.
She told PEOPLE that early in the divorce process, before she publicly announced the split, she had an approximately 90-minute phone conversation with Gillihan about problems in her marriage. Reid says Gillihan subsequently encouraged her after she filed for divorce, telling her she deserved better and would eventually find someone else. Reid now views those conversations differently because Gillihan and Lochte began dating during the same period.
“And lo and behold, she was dating my husband,” Reid told PEOPLE. TMZ noted that Reid’s March 26 divorce filing and Lochte and Gillihan’s April 9 anniversary are separated by exactly two weeks. Reid said she eventually confronted Gillihan after learning about the relationship. PEOPLE reported that the two exchanged hostile text messages in June 2025, with Gillihan disputing Reid’s interpretation of what had happened.
Gillihan Says She Rejected Lochte While He Was Married
Gillihan provided PEOPLE with a substantially different account. She said Lochte initially reached out to her in 2019 while he was still married. According to Gillihan, she made it clear that she was not willing to pursue a married man and nothing developed between them. “After that, I never spoke to Ryan during the course of his marriage,” Gillihan said.
She acknowledged having the 2025 phone conversation with Reid but said Reid was the one who contacted her and asked whether Lochte had been calling, texting or seeing her. Gillihan said she mostly listened because she understood how difficult divorce could be and now regrets taking the call. She also said she was initially wary of becoming involved with Lochte because he had approached her years earlier while married and because she did not want to enter a complicated situation.
According to Gillihan, she wanted to make certain Reid and Lochte’s relationship was “truly over” before considering anything romantic. “Ryan didn’t reach out to me again until he was living independently and the divorce proceedings had already begun,” she told PEOPLE.
Lochte Admits He Was Unfaithful, but Denies Gillihan Was Involved
Earlier this year, Lochte publicly admitted that he had been unfaithful and said he had no excuse for that conduct. He has nevertheless consistently denied that Gillihan was one of the people with whom he cheated.
Lochte has said his romantic relationship with Gillihan began only after Reid filed for divorce, he had been served with the papers and he was living outside the marital home.
Their April 9 Anniversary Is Now Part of the Dispute
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Lochte publicly marked the couple’s timeline on Instagram on April 9, 2026, celebrating one year with Gillihan. Reid says she was still having with Gillihan during the breakdown of the marriage.
Gillihan sees the same period differently. Her position is that the marriage had already ended in practice, Lochte was living separately and formal divorce proceedings were underway before she allowed the relationship to become romantic.
Lochte and Gillihan became Instagram official over the Fourth of July weekend in 2025. They moved in together in January 2026, telling PEOPLE that combining their households was the next step for their blended family. Lochte shares son Caiden and daughters Liv and Georgia with Reid, while Gillihan has three children of her own.
Lochte Proposed Before His Divorce Was Final
Lochte proposed to Gillihan in June at Prime & Pearl in Gainesville, the restaurant where the couple had their first date. He confirmed the engagement to PEOPLE on June 19. At the time, however, his divorce from Reid had not yet received final court approval.
After receiving criticism for referring to himself as divorced, Lochte clarified that he and Reid had reached an agreement but that a judge still needed to formally finalize it. That happened on July 1. Reid said she was grateful to move forward with “clarity” and “peace,” while Lochte said he could now begin planning his wedding.