Ryan Lochte is navigating significant life changes.
More than a year has passed since his wife, Kayla Reid, initiated divorce proceedings after seven years of marriage. Now, the decorated swimmer, who boasts 12 Olympic medals, has embarked on a new career path as an assistant coach for the swim team at Missouri State University.
However, Lochte’s career shift isn’t the only transformation he’s undergoing. In a recent Instagram video where he announced his new coaching role, the former Olympic athlete appeared quite different from his competitive days at the 2016 Rio Games.
The 41-year-old, who shares three children—Caiden, 8, Liv, 7, and Georgia, 2—with Kayla, has traded his once clean-shaven face and neatly styled hair for a rugged look featuring scruffy facial hair and a spiky, gelled hairstyle.
Though the 41-year-old—dad to Caiden, 8, Liv, 7, and Georgia, 2, with Kayla—used to present a clean-shaven look and coiffed hair, he now dons scruffy facial hair and a spiked-up, gelled hairdo.
Plus, like Ryan’s appearance, his interests have changed over time.
“Over the last couple of years, something so unexpected happened,” he said in the May 10 video. “I might actually be more passionate about coaching than competing. Don’t get me wrong, I had a pretty good swimming career, but honestly, I think I might even be a better swim coach.”