Ryan Lochte Previously Opened Up About Being 'Sad' Dad Missed Olympics Before Mending Relationship

Ryan Lochte previously opened up about his relationship with his father before revealing this week that the pair are “closer” than ever.

In a 2017 interview with ESPN, Lochte shared that his dad, Steven Lochte, did not attend the Rio Olympics the year prior.

“Of course I'm sad about it,” the Olympic swimmer, 36, told the outlet at the time. “I so wish he were there. I wish he was there every day of my life, but when it's time for me to do my job, it's time for me to do my job.”

Earlier this week, he shared that his relationship with his father has now been mended during an interview for In Depth with Graham Bensinger. Lochte also praised his stepmother, saying “How she treats me, my family, my dad. She's the best.”

He also discussed how his parents' 2011 divorce changed his family dynamic. "At one point, we were all against someone, and then later on in life, it changed," he explained of his mother Ileana Lochte, and father’s split.

He continued, "When it happened, it was — we were all on my mom's side. But then later on in life, when I told her that she was going to be a grandma, and I'm having a kid she said some very, very hurtful things that kind of ended our relationship, me and her."

Lochte and his wife Kayla Rae Reid share two children: their daughter Liv Rae, 15 months, and son Caiden Zane, 3. The couple married in 2018.

The Olympic swimmer declined to reveal what specifically his mother said, but told Bensinger, "She just said some things to me and my wife, but I mean, I can get over it, but I just want an apology from her. And she said that she'll never apologize."

"I don't care," he explained. "I'm happy right now with my family. My job is to protect my family. And I will do anything, no matter what, to protect my family."

Lochte added of his parents' breakup and dad's remarriage, “This is something that I don't regret happened because they're happy and that's all I want.”