Ryan Lochte says he is finally making a change. The 41-year-old Olympic swimmer revealed this week that he recently completed rehab and is now 54 days sober.
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Lochte shared the news in an emotional Instagram video, calling his sobriety the reason he is "so happy right now."
Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medalist, has lived through a turbulent public fall since his prime years in the pool. His reputation took a major hit after the infamous 2016 Rio Games incident, when he fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint during a drunken night out.
More recently, he was involved in a serious 2023 car crash when his truck collided with a garbage truck on his way to pick up his children from school.
"After my accident in 2023, I fell into a really dark place — depression, loneliness and feeling like I was giving up in life, which led me down a road of substance abuse," Lochte said. "With everything going on in my life, I needed to make a drastic change."
His divorce from wife Kayla Rae Reid added more turmoil, with court filings accusing Lochte of drug use inside their home. She alleged she discovered empty cocaine baggies and witnessed him using nitrous oxide. Lochte admitted to drug use but denied doing so around his children.
He has since checked into a Florida recovery center, crediting the staff there with helping him turn a corner.
"They helped me realize that substance abuse isn't a solution, it's just a distraction that makes things worse," he said.
Now Lochte says he is committed to moving forward. "There's a lot of stigma around substance abuse," he added. "In life, you're going to get knocked out or hit a road block. It's not how you get knocked out, it's how you keep moving forward."
