"I felt like I was neglected..like he disowned me" - Michael Phelps opens up on his relationship with late father while growing up as a kid

23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps recently opened up about his experience growing up as a child without his father's proper presence and guidance. The late Fred Phelps left the American swimmer when he was nine, divorcing his mother in 1994.

Owing to this, Phelps had to spend most of his childhood without a father figure. Moreover, in a recent conversation, Phelps also revealed that during his childhood, he barely saw his father five times in two decades.

During the conversation, Phelps also gave a very candid perspective on how healthy his relationship with his father was. He also mentioned that as a kid growing up, he was burdened with this entire situation and also revealed that these feelings and emotions are not as strong currently as they used to be for him.

Michael Phelps said (via Need a Lift? podcast with Tom Shriver at 21:31):

"I just think, okay cool, not that I forgive him, but I understand that I can't change anything, and for me, what can I control? I can control my feelings and emotions and the more I talk about that stuff, for me those feelings and emotions are not as strong."

Phelps further added:

"I don't have as much hatred which is a very strong word but I felt like I was neglected and you know, I felt like he disowned me and as a kid growing up that's a very heavy weight to carry."

Even after this complex relationship between the two over the years, the two had quite a good time in the last few years before Fred Phelps died in 2022.

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Michael Phelps praised 22-year-old Leon Marchand's impressive performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Michael Phelps during a basketball game on the 12th day of the Paris Olympics (Image via Getty Images)

French swimmer Leon Marchand was one of the most impressive campaigners at the 2024 Paris quadrennial event that concluded a month back. The 22-year-old swimmer finished his 2024 Paris Olympics campaign with four gold medals in the 200m medley, 400m medley, 200m breaststroke, and 200m butterfly events.

Following his victory in the 200m breaststroke and 200m butterfly events on the same day, Michael Phelps said that this was one of the greatest performances ever produced in swimming's history of swimming. Phelps said via NBC:

"That's probably the greatest double I've ever seen in the history of the sport."

This comment was a great compliment for Merchand as it came from someone he looked up to as a legendary figure.