Olympic legend sells gold medals after split from former Playboy model
He’s one of the most successful swimmers in Olympic history, winning 12 medals throughout his illustrious career.
However, he has just three of those medals left in his collection.
Former U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has endured some tough times after finishing with the second-most medals among men’s swimmers in Olympic history.
Lochte’s downfall began in 2016 during “Lochtegate,” where he and three other U.S. Olympians were accused of exaggerating a story about being harassed by local police. He was then suspended in 2018 by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for the use of an IV.
He seemed to turn things around after marrying former Playboy Playmate of the Month, Kayle Rae Reid, in 2018. The couple had three children, one son and two daughters. However, that seems to have gone south as well, as Reid filed for divorce from Lochte in March, 2025.
Now, he recently sold three of his six gold medals for US$385,520, according to Darren Rovell.
Ryan Lochte still owns this 2012 gold medal, after selling three other ones recently at an auction. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)
This isn’t the first time that Lochte has sold some of his Olympic medals. Back in 2022, he sold six of his medals for US$166,000, auctioning off all of his medals that weren’t gold.
Lochte won six gold medals throughout his Olympic career, winning one in 2004, two in 2008, two in 2012, and a final one in 2016.
Recently, Lochte posted on Instagram detailing the rationale behind selling his medals.
“I never swam for the gold medals,” he wrote. “My passion has always been about being one of the best swimmers in the world.”
“Those medals? They were just the cherry on top of an incredible journey.”
The 41-year-old has previously been candid about his struggles with managing money. In 2020, he spoke to CNBC about going from making over $1 million per year to having just $20,000 in savings.
Although Lochte has just three Olympic medals left in his possession, he does still rank second all-time among swimmers to compete in the Olympics with 12 podium finishes. Only Michael Phelps has more, winning 28 Olympic medals, with 23 of those being gold.