Could Ryan Lochte Lose His Kids? Estranged Wife Begs Court For Custody, Accuses Swimmer Of Cocaine Use

The ongoing separation between Ryan Lochte and his estranged wife, Kayla Lochte, is only getting messier. Back in June 2025, Kayla, a Florida-based real estate agent and mother of three, revealed she was divorcing the 12x Olympic medalist, calling it one of the most challenging decisions of her life. Weeks later, more details became public, including allegations that Ryan was unfaithful. Now, in new legal filings, Kayla is asking the court for sole custody of their children and claiming the elite athlete has a problem with drugs.

According to a report from Us Weekly, Kayla filed court documents in August 2025, asking the court to grant her sole physical custody of her and Ryan's three children. In her filing, Kayla told the court that sharing custody would be "detrimental" to their children because of Ryan's alleged "history of substance abuse."

Also in the court filings, Ryan's wife noted that she's found "mostly empty baggies of cocaine" around their shared marital home and that the Olympian had "consumed the majority of the contents before the baggies were discovered."

Kayla, who married Ryan in 2018 after two years of dating, revealed in court documents that she allegedly found the empty baggies of cocaine underneath a kitchen table, in one of their child's bedrooms, and on the child's bathroom counter.

And the shocking claims of displaying reckless behavior in front of their children don't stop there. Kayla stated that her estranged husband had a propensity to "doze off during the day," especially after he dropped their kids off at school.

In the documents, Kayla claimed that she would sometimes find the Olympian "passed out in the driver's seat" with the car still on and the music blasting. She also alleged in the paperwork that Ryan had fallen asleep "while being the only adult watching the children" in the past.

The most shocking claim, however, is Kayla alleging to have "caught Ryan inhaling nitrous oxide in front of" one of their young children while they "were in the garage with him."

Kayla further expressed her concerns about Ryan transporting their children to school. The 34-year-old mentioned the swimmer's past car accident and also alleged that he has "driven the children to school while intoxicated."

She also alleged that "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" star recently failed two drug tests, along with hair follicle tests for drugs. According to the legal filings, Kayla refused to let her children spend the night at Ryan's home after he allegedly refused to take an at-home drug test.

"[Ryan's] recurring and repeated irresponsible behavior shows he is unfit to exercise shared parental responsibility, and it would [be] a detriment to the minor children to award the same," Kayla's legal representative shared.

Speaking with Us Weekly, Lochte responded to his estranged wife's claims, saying he wouldn't deny using drugs inside his home. However, he "adamantly [denies] ever using drugs in front of or around my children, and I have never driven them while intoxicated."

The 41-year-old also responded to the claims that he fell asleep at the wheel, adding, "At times, I would rest in my truck instead of going inside, not because I was impaired, but because the home environment had become overwhelming and very toxic, and I needed and a moment to collect myself before walking in."

"I have tried desperately to keep these divorce proceedings private and sealed, not to protect myself, but to protect my children from fabricated allegations that could hurt them. Unfortunately, despite that effort, my ex-wife chose to make this matter public, knowing I was already in intensive rehab," he added.

The latest developments in Kayla and Ryan's ongoing divorce come months after Kayla told her 338,000 Instagram followers that she was starting over after several years of marriage.

"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 the understanding 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 for myself," she said.

Although the initial reason for their divorce wasn't made public at the time, a source alleged Ryan betrayed Kayla on multiple occasions. "He's damaged so much of their marriage and he's broken her heart so many times that she doesn't know if reconciliation is in their future," the source said, according to a previous report from The Blast.

The source also claimed that Ryan had been struggling for years.

"It just got so bad that she actually felt like, by leaving, he'll have to be court-mandated to get help, essentially. And that's all she wants," the source said, "is for him to be healthy and him to be well."