The swimmer fell into a deep depression that took a toll on his marriage to Kayla Rae Reid.
Ryan Lochte had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. While speaking with Cheryl Burke on her Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, the 39-year-old former Olympic swimmer revealed that he is 60 days sober from alcohol and has come a long way in his mental health journey.
Lochte, who danced with Burke on season 23 of Dancing With the Stars in 2016, became very vulnerable recalling when he did not qualify for the USA 2021 Summer Olympics swim team.
"I went through a hard depression after I didn't make the Olympic team in 2021," he admitted to Burke. "I would always wake up and I couldn't even go outside to take my trash out to the end of the driveway because I was just so depressed. I couldn't even get out of bed."
Lochte said the depression took a toll on his relationship with 32-year-old Kayla Rae Reid, whom he married in 2018. "Me and my wife, we were about to get a divorce because she was like, 'Who are you?'" he recalled. "I would wake up every day, look at myself in the mirror and be like, 'F**king pathetic.' I would cry all the time. I let everyone down and I think that was the biggest thing because I love everybody. I have a good heart."
The athlete said he was able to come out of his depression by continuing to "put his foot forward."
"The biggest thing that helped was my family," the father of three said, adding that a lot of his time and energy now goes into being a good father and husband. "...For my swimming, I should have done it for me."
Lochte also looked back on his time performing on DWTS and admitted that he also struggled while on the show.
As for what he learned from the experience, Lochte shared, "In life, you're always going to get knocked down no matter what, but it's how you get back up and how you keep moving forward is who you are."
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