Rather than a medal, Ryan Lochte is putting a ring on it.
The six-time U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist got engaged to girlfriend Molly Gillihan, with TMZ reporting that Lochte popped the question last week at a restaurant in Gainesville, Fla., where they had their first date.
TMZ shared photos of the proposal, which show the two celebrating and Gillihan showing off her engagement ring after she said yes.
“I’m on cloud nine she said yes. I’m happy this is my new beginning, and I couldn’t do it without her,” Lochte, 41, told TMZ.
The couple publicly announced their relationship over Fourth of July weekend in 2025, though reports indicate that they have been together for longer than that.
Late last month, Lochte penned a heartfelt Instagram post to Gillihan on her birthday, saying how much she has changed his life since the two met.
“When you came into my life, I was lost, broken, and honestly unsure of who I was anymore,” the post read. Then you walked in and loved me for the real me not the swimmer, not the spotlight, not any of the outside noise… just me. And that kind of love changed my life forever.
“You became my best friend, my safe place, my peace, and the soulmate I spent my whole life praying for without even realizing it. You’ve stood beside me when I thought I was nothing and the darkest moments and somehow still managed to make me smile, laugh, and believe in myself again.”
The third-most decorated Olympic swimmer’s decision to pop the question also comes just a year after finalizing a messy divorce from his ex-wife, Kayla Rae Reid.
Lochte also went to rehab during that time to help with a drug addiction, telling The Post last month that he regrets ever diving into substances.
“I just did it to escape the hell that I was living in,” he said. “It was mostly weed and cocaine. Yeah, it’s horrible.
“I look at myself now and I’m just like, what the hell was I ever thinking?”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
