Estranged Wife Of Ryan Lochte Breaks Silence On 'Complex' Divorce After Accusing Him Of Using Cocaine

It's been a tough 2025 for Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Lochte and his estranged wife, Kayla Lochte. After revealing that she had filed for divorce from her husband earlier in the year, the Florida-based realtor is now sharing even more about their public split, calling it "complex" and admitting to feeling "frozen" in time.

On Instagram, Kayla, a former Playboy Playmate, posted a new headshot of herself and shared 10 things she thought her followers should know.

Among the list was a statement about her complicated divorce from Ryan, which has challenged her in ways she didn't see coming.

"I’m currently navigating a complex divorce, and let me tell you — divorce can feel like being frozen in time," part of the post's caption read. "I’m using this season to rebuild, rediscover who I am, and chase my dreams with clarity and courage."

Elsewhere in the caption, Kayla admitted her biggest passion is "helping" people, then revealed that her family means "everything to me."

She finished the post with the "biggest lesson" she's learned recently, which is that "silence isn't weakness—it's power."

Indeed, the divorce between Kayla and Ryan has been messy, according to previous reports from The Blast.

In September 2025, Kayla filed court documents seeking sole custody of their three children, suggesting shared custody with Ryan would be "detrimental" to their well-being due to the swimmer's alleged "history of substance abuse."

Also in the documents, Kayla claimed she found "mostly empty baggies of cocaine" lying around their shared home, including in their kids' bathrooms.

Kayla made a series of even more shocking claims, including accusing Ryan of driving their children to school while intoxicated, passing out while being the only adult present with their kids, and one time "inhaling nitrous oxide in front" of one of them.

"[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.

Ryan clapped back at the allegations made against him almost instantly, stating that he's never used "drugs in front of or around my children." He also denied the claims that he's driven them to school intoxicated.

In his statement, Ryan admitted to sometimes resting in his truck to escape the "overwhelming and very toxic" environment at home.

"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.

Following the startling claims made by Kayla, Ryan got candid with his followers about the struggles he was facing, including "depression, loneliness and feeling like I was giving up in life," which culminated in substance abuse.

"I checked myself into a Florida recovery center. The staff has been incredible," Ryan explained in a video online, according to The Blast.

"They helped me realize substance abuse isn’t a solution. It’s just a distraction that makes things worse,” Ryan added before sharing he's feeling “much better, thinking clearly, motivated and moving forward."

In another emergency court filing, Kayla asked the court to grant her temporary child and spousal support from her estranged husband while also bringing new details about the swimmer's new "paramour" to the forefront.

The documents claim Ryan is "undermining" Kayla as the mother of their children and has repeatedly "brought his paramour of only a couple months to the minor children's school to have lunch."

The documents also state that Ryan's girlfriend has displayed questionable behavior toward her children while on school grounds, such as attempting to "hug" one of them despite "the child's protests."

Ryan opened up about his connection with his new girlfriend with a photo of them on Instagram in June 2025, writing, "Happiness looks good on me. Can’t hear the outside noise. All smiles with you even thru obstacles thrown at us."