The last time I covered Ryan Lochte, it was because he got suspended for competitive swimming for 14 months because of… Instagram. That happened over the summer – earlier this year, Lochte did some sponsored content on his Instagram which included him posing for photos with an IV drip in his arm. The IV was full of Revivaliv Lounge vitamins, apparently. So Lochte’s foray into sponcon ended with a suspension, and probably thousands of dollars of lost sponsorship money. We’ve known for some time that Lochte is an idiot, but here’s the thing: I don’t think we can make fun of him anymore? Because he apparently has a massive drinking problem.
Ryan Lochte is now acknowledging that he has a “serious” alcohol problem after a booze-fueled incident at a Southern California hotel and he’ll be seeking treatment, TMZ Sports has learned. We’ve confirmed … Lochte was involved in an incident at a hotel in Newport Beach on Thursday morning in which he drunkenly tried to kick in his own hotel room door around 3 AM.
Hotel security responded to the scene and cops were called. No arrests were made and Lochte smoothed things over with the hotel in regards to the damaged door. But, now we’ve learned … Lochte is realizing he’s been battling an “alcohol addiction” and needs to address it before the problem gets worse.
“Ryan has been battling from alcohol addiction for many years and unfortunately it has become a destructive pattern for him,” Lochte’s lawyer, Jeff Ostrow tells us. “He has acknowledged that he needs professional assistance to overcome his problem and will be getting help immediately. Ryan knows that conquering this disease now is a must for him to avoid making future poor decisions, to be the best husband and father he can be, and if he wants to achieve his goal to return to dominance in the pool in his 5th Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.”
This incident is not the first time Lochte has gotten into trouble after a night of boozing — he was arrested in Brazil back 2016 after a drunken incident at a local gas station.
I wonder if he was a binge-drinker who believed he was merely a social drinker, and then when his suspension came through this summer, he just went on an insane bender because his life was falling apart. Or should I say, his career fell apart. He is married and he has a small child, son Caiden Lochte. His personal life seemed more stable than it’s ever been. But alcoholism doesn’t discriminate between people with young families and people without. Anyway, my point is that I feel sorry for Lochte and I hope he gets help.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN.
I thought this was obvious after the Rio debacle.
Not surprised at all. I feel bad for his little family though. Hopefully this will help him get sober.
Well, I think we all knew that there was some kind of substance abuse issues going on considering his recent behavior. I hope he thrives in treatment and becomes the man that he as the potential to be. Best of luck to him!
For those who know the signs, there were red flags way back before Rio when his profile first started to rise. When you meet people are still partying and drinking like college students in their late twenties, it’s usually a sign of an underlying problem. I’m not surprised by it, but I’m glad he’s getting help for his family’s sake.
This being said, I can’t believe he’s married OH EM GEE. Do you think they have enough brain cells between them to do basic addition?
I though this was pretty apparent but I hope he gets the help he needs.