Ryan Lochte & Wife Were Facing SEVERE Financial Trouble When She Filed For Divorce!

We still don’t know what exactly led to Ryan Lochte‘s divorce from his wife Kayla Rae Reid, but this adds a lot of insight!

As we reported, Kayla actually filed for divorce from the Olympian back in late March, but news didn’t break until earlier this week when she released an incredibly raw statement announcing the end of the marriage. She claimed she made the painful decision to walk away after facing a difficult period in her life she never saw coming — and insisted it was “an act of love” to put herself and her children first.

Ryan followed up with his own statement, and he made it sound like it was a mutual decision — even though Kayla’s statement would seemingly disagree. So, that in and of itself shows this is a messy split. And now thanks to new legal paperwork filed by the swimmer, it’s clear this wasn’t as amicable of a split as he wanted to make it seem at first!

Back in April, Ryan filed a response to his estranged wife’s divorce filing. The court papers were just obtained by DailyMail.com on Thursday, and they’re incredibly telling as it shows the exes don’t agree on pretty much anything right now! Plus, the couple is reportedly in a s**tload of debt — we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars worth! Yikes!

For starters, Ryan blasted claims that his kids, Caiden Zane, 7, Liv Rae, 5, and Georgia June, 1, are “primarily” in the care of their mother and that she should have “sole parental responsibility.” Kayla had requested that the court establish a parenting plan “awarding her majority time-sharing” with the children because, as she put it, “equal time-sharing would be detrimental to the children.” Yeesh. She also said she needs financial assistance to pay for education and retraining to help improve her skills so she can get into a better financial situation. You’ll realize why that’s so important in a sec.

First, while the athlete agreed the court should determine each of their obligations for child support, he certainly doesn’t think the former Playboy Playmate has “inadequate” income to provide for their kids.

Meanwhile, it also appears like Ryan wants their Gainesville, Florida home for himself since he argued his ex does not “needs the exclusive use” of the property for herself and their kids. But here’s what’s really interesting. According to real estate docs DM dug up, Ryan’s no longer living in the home.

They purchased the property for about $548,000 in 2021, but in March — yup, the same month Kayla filed her divorce docs — Ryan moved out and into a four-bedroom, three-bathroom rental in Newberry, FL, for $3K a month. Yeah, it’s really sounding like he might’ve done something to ’cause the split if he’s the one that got the boot! But we still don’t know for sure…

Ryan also does not agree that his wife should be granted full interests in her assets, that are currently held in a trust by him. He also appeared to be blindsided by “terms of an agreement” that were made between Kayla and their law firm, Scruggs, Carmichael & Wershow, P.A., in which she claimed “he should be required to pay” her attorneys’ fees if he “engages in frivolous and/or vexatious litigation.”

So, basically, there is a LOT of chatter about money! That’s not the biggest red flag when it comes to a celebrity divorces, but it is noteworthy considering they’re having money problems!

The outlet discovered via court records that the couple owe almost $100,000 to the IRS. OMG! And that’s not all either!

Per paperwork filed in November 2024, Ryan and Kayla were met with a tax lien of $99,696.09, which they haven’t paid. The amount owed is a combo of their 2021 taxes of $48,182.76, and 2022 taxes of $51,513.33.

Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics has also filed two different liens against them over the last two years for failing to pay the hospital “for care, treatment and maintenance” of the 12-time Olympic medalist. In December 2023, it was claimed they owned $127,977.73, and again in February 2024, they owned $39,720.15.

And there’s more! In December 2024, the co-parents were hit with a claim on their home for $2,231.76, which they haven’t paid. All together, that’s nearly nearly $270,000 in debt!

Based on all this timing, it seems like the family really hit a financial crisis after Ryan’s 2023 car accident, in which he ran into a garbage truck that was “illegally stopped in the same lane as him.” He hit it after a car “swerved to the left” toward him without warning or enough time for him to avoid the vehicle, per reports. However, a judge found him guilty of careless driving and ordered him to attend driving school and pay a small $159 fee for the traffic infraction in March 2024.

So, yeah, it’s been — and still is — a tough time for them financially. No wonder they’re both fighting so hard over assets now! Could any of this impacted Kayla’s decision to walk away from the relationship?? Or did something else cause the breakup?

What do YOU think? Let us know (below).

[Image via Kayla Rae Reid/Ryan Lochte/Instagram]