Olympic Swimmer Ryan Lochte Announces Baby Surprise on Instagram

BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce to the world he is expecting a child with fiancée, former Playboy playmate Kayla Rae Reid.

In the photo, Lochte, 32, is swimming underwater kissing Reid's stomach, who is standing in the pool holding Lochte's head.

"My Christmas gift came early this year, can't wait for next year! Best news I've ever received," the Olympic gold medalist said in the post.

This will be the couple's first child. Lochte announced his engagement to Reid in much the same way in October. The two shared a romantic photo on each other's Instagram accounts.

Reid, 25, told US Weekly magazine in October that Lochte wanted kids "badly," and the topic was one of the first things the couple discussed in their "early conversations."

In the same interview, Lochte said he knew Reid was the one for him when she stood by him during the Rio Olympics drunken escapade scandal that cost him several major sponsors.

Lochte claimed he and three other swimmers on the US team were robbed at a gas station during the Rio Summer Olympics. The claim was debunked by surveillance video, and Lochte was forced to publicly apologize.

Following the Olympic scandal, Lochte was chosen as one of the stars for this season's "Dancing with the Stars," a move that prompted some tongue wagging from critics. Two men rushed the stage to protest Lochte during a taping of the show in September. The men have since been charged with misdemeanors and are awaiting trial.

Lochte and his DWTS partner Cheryl Burke were eliminated on Week 8 of the competition, ending in seventh place.

Lochte and Reid have been together since at least March when Lochte coyly confirmed to US Weekly in another interview that he might be seeing someone.

Reid was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for July 2015.

Photo credit: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil