EXCLUSIVE Ryan Lochte locks lips with new girlfriend Molly Gillihan on movie date amid divorce from Kayla Rae Reid

Daily Mail​

09-07-2025

Olympian Ryan Lochte shares a steamy kiss with new flame Molly Gillihan as the newly-minted couple are seen for the first time since going public on their romance.
The legendary swimmer, 40, revved up his relationship with kindergarten teacher Molly, 37, by taking her to see Brad Pitt 's new F1 film.
The smitten pair couldn't keep their hands off one another as DailyMail.com snapped exclusive photos of them cuddling and canoodling outside the Regal Celebration movie theatre in Gainesville, Florida.
It's been less than a month since Lochte's estranged wife Kayla Rae Reid, 34, announced she was divorcing the 12-time Olympic medal winner.
But there was nothing under the radar about Monday's night PDA-packed display as Lochte held hands and locked lips with mom-of-three Molly in front of fellow moviegoers.
He treated his pretty blonde date to popcorn and candy before they took their seats for the blockbuster drama about an aging Formula One driver who makes a winning return to the sport after a 30-year-hiatus.
Lochte joked afterwards that Pitt's feel-good movie reduced him to tears.
'It was amazing,' he told DailyMail.com. 'I cried at the end because I can relate to someone achieving greatness. Molly had to hold me.'
Summing up their evening, he purred: 'Caught a movie with my girl tonight – popcorn, laughs and her smile lighting up the room.
'Simple nights like this are my favorites.'
Kayla - mom to Lochte's three kids Caiden, eight, Liv, six, and Georgia, two - is yet to comment publicly on her estranged husband's new relationship status.
The Playboy model-turned realtor filed for divorce in March, insisting their seven-year marriage was 'irretrievably broken'.
The legendary swimmer, 40, could not keep his hands off his new kindergarten teacher girlfriend Molly, 37, while taking her to see Brad Pitt's new F1 film
The shock split went unreported until Kayla wrote about it in a cryptic June 4 Instagram post referencing 'trials we didn't choose or see coming'.
'I made the hard decision to end my marriage after deep prayer and reflection,' wrote the July 2015 Playmate of the Month.
'I've been hesitant to share until I could do so from a place of healing - not from fresh, open wounds.'
DailyMail.com previously revealed that Kayla and Molly knew one another already because two of Molly's children go to the same school as Caiden and Liv.
Lochte vehemently denies cheating, however, insisting he was a single man and living alone when he hooked up with the petite divorcee.
'I want people to understand that Molly didn't take me away from my ex-wife. She didn't take me away from my kids,' he told DailyMail.com earlier this week.
Speaking to Daily Mail afterwards, Lochte joked that Pitt's feel-good movie reduced him to tears and 'Molly had to hold me'
'We got a divorce and I left. I moved down the street because I wanted to be in my kids' lives and I will always be in my kids' lives.
'There was no infidelity with Molly, like nothing. Molly didn't do anything wrong. She didn't pursue me, I pursued her.
'It was after I got served with the divorce papers. I was out of the house and living by myself. It was all after the fact.'
Molly also told DailyMail.com she was 'extremely happy' with Lochte, even though she knew very little about his medal-winning exploits and storied rivalry with Michael Phelps.
'Seeing how great of a dad he was is what attracted me to him,' said the hard-working mom, who was previously married to a Missouri doctor.
'I do not know much about his history in swimming but when I saw how he was with his kiddos I decided to give him a chance.'
Lochte and estranged wife appeared to have weathered multiple storms, including his stint in rehab for alcoholism and a recent car accident that left him depressed and unable to walk for months.
Behind the scenes, however, the third-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history said his marriage had been on the rocks for years.
'What people don't really realize is that me and my ex haven't really been together for a very long time, basically, since my littlest girl was born, which was around two years ago,' Lochte told DailyMail.com.
'Kayla is the mother of my children. I'll always love her but I'm not in love with her. I wish her the best and I hope she can wish the best for me too.'
Since declaring her marriage dead in the water, Kayla has spent much of her time visiting family on the West Coast.
Her petition, filed in central Florida's Alachua County, demands exclusive use of the $700,000 marital home and alimony to cover study, retraining and the costs of being a single mom.
Lochte told Daily Mail that the romance began after he was served with divorce papers and insisted 'there was no infidelity with Molly'
She wants their assets – and reported debts of $270,000 - carved up fairly and Lochte to cover her legal fees because 'wife is financially unable to pay.'
When it comes to the kids, Kayla has asked the court for 'sole parenting responsibility' or at least 'ultimate decision-making authority' and 'majority timesharing'.
'Wife is fit and proper to assume sole parental responsibility for the minor children of the parties. Shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the children,' her lawyers wrote.
Lochte responded by insisting it was in the best interests of Caiden, Liv and Georgia for their parents to share custody.
He's renting a three-bed, $420,000 house five minutes from his former home so he can remain an ever-present in their lives.
The divorce marks a sad end to a fairytale romance that Kayla first disclosed to the world during an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Molly was also previously married with children but finalized her divorce last year. DailyMail.com also revealed that the two women knew one another already because each of their children go to the same school
Posing for photos on the rooftop of a luxury hotel, the Fairfax, Virginia native described her hunky new beau as 'kind, humble and, of course, unbelievably good looking.'
She added: 'He also has more depth than you could possibly imagine.'
Within days, however, their romance was overshadowed by a bizarre episode forever dubbed 'Lochtegate.'
The swimmer and teammates Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger claimed they were robbed at gunpoint when a night out in Rio turned to terror.
It was later alleged that Lochte fabricated the story after a drunken clash with a gas station security guard who caught them peeing against a wall.
Lochte was never charged with any offence and he and Kayla put the drama behind them by tying the knot in Palm Springs, California in January 2018.
That same year, he served a 14-month ban for using a prohibited IV infusion and spent six weeks in rehab for alcoholism.
Last year, Lochte, now a youth swim coach and entrepreneur, revealed he was in a severe car accident and spent ten months recovering from a shattered femur (thigh bone).