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Swimming legend Ryan Lochte has found love with a pretty kindergarten teacher – just weeks after announcing his divorce.
The rugged former Olympian, 40, revealed he is dating blonde mom-of-three Molly Gillihan, 37, in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.
The pair fell head over heels after meeting on the school run – but dad-of-three Lochte is adamant that he never cheated on ex-wife Kayla Rae Reid, 34.
'Molly is true to herself. She has a big heart. She's a kindergarten teacher so she has the patience of a freaking saint,' the besotted athlete told Daily Mail.
'It's awesome being with her. We're just living our best lives and having fun.'
Former Playboy model Kayla last month revealed she had filed for divorce in March, insisting her seven-year marriage to Lochte was 'irretrievably broken.'
Ryan Lochte has found love again with Florida kindergarten teacher Molly Gillihan, 37, weeks after announcing his divorce
The Olympic swimmer, 40, confirmed his estranged wife Kayla Rae Reid's announcement of their divorce last month, saying it's 'the right step toward peace and well-being for us both'
The shock split went unreported until she wrote about it in a cryptic Instagram post referencing 'trials we didn't choose or see coming', declining to say more.
'Kayla has blocked me on social media. She's the one that wanted this divorce in the first place and now she's playing this pity party,' Lochte added, icily.
'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.
'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, of Gainesville, Florida, was also previously married with children but finalized her divorce last year, Daily Mail has learned
Lochte openly flaunted his new relationship with a series of recent snaps with his new love on social media
Two of Molly's children go to the same school in Gainesville, Florida, as the youngest two of Lochte's three kids, Caiden, eight, and Liv, six.
That's how she got to know their famous dad, one of the most recognizable US swimmers of all time and the closest thing Michael Phelps had to a genuine rival.
'I'm extremely happy with Ryan,' Molly told DailyMail.com.
'He pursued me some time after Kayla served him with divorce papers and he was living on his own.'
The hard-working mom was previously married to a Missouri doctor but their divorce was finalized last year.
She said of Lochte: 'Seeing how great of a dad he was is what attracted me to him.
Molly and Lochte spent the July 4th weekend at his brother Devon's house in Daytona Beach, Florida. They are pictured together in a group photo with family
He appeared happy in love in a series of lovey dovey social media photos with Gillihan
'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.'
Molly and Lochte spent the July 4th weekend at his brother Devon's house in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The swimmer posted a series of lovey dovey photos to social media showing them draping their arms around one another.
Further snaps revealed Molly bonding with Lochte's adorable niece Isla and helping the little girl paint her nails.
'My family loves Molly,' declared Lochte, a two-time World Swimmer of the Year and now a full-time coach and entrepreneur.
He added: 'We have nothing to hide – why hide happiness?
Lochte told Daily Mail that the romance began after he was served with divorce papers and insisted 'there was no infidelity with Molly'
Kayla, seen in 2016 at Playboy Midsummer Night's Dream party, was previously a Playmate. She filed for divorce in March, insisting her seven-year marriage to Lochte was 'irretrievably broken'
'I'm just in a new projection and a new chapter of my life that is going to be amazing and I'm excited for it.'
Lochte and Kayla 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, Lochte 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,' he told Daily Mail.
'We had been having complications for a long time so it was an easy transition for us to divorce and live our own lives.
'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.
'One thing I will not do is leave my kids and I'll always be part of their lives.'
Kayla has spent much of her time visiting family on the West Coast since declaring her marriage dead in the water in a tersely-worded June 4 Instagram post.
'I made the hard decision to end my marriage after deep prayer and reflection,' the July 2015 Playmate of the Month wrote.
'I hold marriage in the highest regard, so this has been one of the most painful, revealing, and challenging seasons of my life.
'I've been hesitant to share until I could do so from a place of healing – not from fresh, open wounds.'
Lochte confirmed the breakup in his own post, alluding only to 'major changes' and 'difficult decisions'.
Lochte began dating Playboy Playmate Kayla Rae Reid, now soon to be his ex-wife, at the height of his Olympic career in 2016
The couple, who have three young children together, announced the news of their split last month after seven years of marriage
His estranged wife's petition, filed three months prior in central Florida's Alachua County, demanded exclusive use of the estranged couple's $700,000, four-bed Gainesville home and alimony to fund study, retraining and the costs of being a single mom.
She wanted 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 came to the kids, Kayla 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 marital 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.
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.
But their story unraveled when DailyMail.com published CCTV of the four friends walking into the Olympic village laughing to themselves and looking completely unruffled by their supposed ordeal.
The swimmer was one of standout stars of the 2016 games and had just won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay
Lochte success in Rio and his new romance with Reid was overshadowed by a bizarre episode forever dubbed 'Lochtegate' after the swimmer and teammates Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger claimed they were robbed at gunpoint
A judge ordered an inquiry after viewing our video and 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.
The Rochester, New York native decided to get help after an incident at a hotel in California. Police were called after he tried to kick a door in, though no arrests were made.
'It helped put things in perspective in my life,' Lochte later reflected.
'What is really more important than going out to a bar and getting hammered or doing anything like that, I go home and I get to play with my kids and kiss and hold my wife. That, to me, is everything.'
Lochte has never formally retired from competitive swimming but hasn't participated in US Olympic team trials since 2021.
Last year he revealed that he was in a severe car accident and spent ten months recovering from a shattered femur (thigh bone).
Lochte told the Athletes Only podcast that he crashed into a truck while on his way to pick up his children from school.
The car in front managed to swerve but the Olympian 'ran into the damn thing.'
