"Nicole wanted a girl for me, but we have Onyx"- Michael Phelps opens up about having a fifth child following birth of four boys

Swimming legend Michael Phelps, father to four sons, does not want to have a fifth child anytime soon. While his wife Nicole wants a girl child for him, Phelps says they're happy with their Great Dane, Onyx.

Phelps welcomed his first son, Boomer, three months before the 2016 Rio, his last Olympic appearance. Following another display of greatness at the event, he retired from swimming and shifted his focus to Boomer.

Baltimore Bullet welcomed his second son, Beckett, in early 2018 followed by a third, Maverick, in September 2019. Five years later, Phelps welcomed his fourth son, Nico, in January 2024.

Michael Phelps and Nicole tied the knot in 2016, and even though the couple have four sons and no girl, he isn't highly interested in having a fifth child at this point. Speaking to E! News, Phelps talked about the idea of a fifth child:

"Oh, I think that's it. Nicole will tell you too. I think she said she wanted a girl for me, but we have Onyx. Onyx is our girl, so we got everything. We got four boys, we got an awesome girl now."

In a 2019 interview with People, Phelps had said:

“I think Nicole said something along the lines of, like, ‘I’m so lucky to have a house full of boys and no girls,’ and Boomer looked at her and said, ‘Mommy, you’re the girl in our house.' So we’ve been saying that and it’s true, she’s the queen.”

Four young sons mean chaos, so how do Michael Phelps and Nicole Phelps maintain the calm in the house?

Michael Phelps and Nicole have four sons and a dog (IMAGE: GETTY)

Phelps grew up with divorced parents but has worked on making a whole life for his four children. The 39-year-old says fatherhood is a special feeling to him.

However, four young sons invariably bring chaos to the Phelps household!

"Three boys eight, six, and four kind of get roughhousing and get into it—there are a lot of big emotions," Phelps said.

So, how does he manage the chaos?

"So when they're going at each other, we pull them apart and you say, 'Lion breath.' And then they're able to talk through the things that they're experiencing in their stomach," he revealed.

Phelps, a long-time mental health advocate, is relieved about his sons developing their ability to identify and control emotions.