Kayla Reid Details Betrayal by Friend Now Engaged to Ryan Lochte

Reid, a 35-year-old realtor based in Florida, described her former friend, Molly Gillihan, as a confidante who frequently reached out during the dissolution of her eight-year marriage. According to Reid, Gillihan regularly disparaged the Olympian, insisting that Reid deserved better than a man she labeled a coward. The discovery that Gillihan was dating the swimmer while providing this counsel felt deeply personal to Reid, who recalled a 90-minute phone call where she shared intimate details of her marital struggles, only to learn later that the woman on the other end was already involved with her husband.

Gillihan has rejected this narrative, maintaining that she kept her distance while the marriage was intact. She asserted that she only considered a relationship with the swimmer after confirming the marriage was definitively over. Gillihan noted that she was initially hesitant to date the athlete due to his public history, but argued that their shared challenges helped him evolve into a more honest partner. The two are now engaged, having relocated to Missouri, while Reid remains in Gainesville with custody of their children. The public fallout included a series of hostile text exchanges between the two women, as Reid continues to navigate the aftermath of the split and the collapse of a friendship she now characterizes as deeply deceptive.