"There is always guilt, no matter what" - When Michael Phelps' wife Nicole made honest confession about motherhood

Michael Phelps' wife once confessed to dealing with guilt as a mom but acknowledged that it was also the right time to focus on being a healthy parent and a healthy wife. The couple married in 2016 and have four sons.

Nicole was a pageant competitor and model when she met Phelps at the 2007 ESPY Awards and went on to become Miss California in 2010. The pair dated on and off for several years before breaking up ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.

However, they reunited sometime around 2014 and got engaged the following year. They welcomed their first child, son Boomer, a month before tying the knot in June 2016.

The couple welcomed a second child named Beckett in 2018, and when Nicole was expecting their third son, Maverick, the following year, she admitted to feeling guilty about not giving time to herself.

“I have to give myself time. There is always guilt, no matter what — do the laundry, clean the sink, put away the kids’ stuff — but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it will all be there later, but the time for me to be a healthy parent and a healthy wife is right now," she told the People magazine.

But for Phelps, the swimming always came to his rescue.

“If I’m in a bad mood and I go for a swim, I’m better 99.9 percent of the time. It’s part of my DNA, and it will always be that way," Michael Phelps added.

The couple welcomed Maverick in September of that year, and the last of their four sons, Nico, arrived in February 2024.

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"He's turning into a little pool rat like I once was" - Michael Phelps on eldest son Boomer

Michael Phelps with son Boomer during Los Angeles Rams v Arizona Cardinals - Source: Getty

Speaking in an interview with the Olympic Channel in 2018, Michael Phelps admitted that his Boomer had taken a liking to swimming and became a "pool rat" like himself.

“It’s fun for a dad watching Boomer really be relaxed in the water but also be able to kick,” he said. "With Booms in the water as much as he is, he’s definitely turning into a little pool rat, like I once was."

However, Michael Phelps also made it clear that he wouldn't force his kids into swimming or any career, for that matter.

"If he [Boomer] chooses to swim that’s his choice: I will never, ever, ever pressure either one of my kids to do something they don’t want to do... All I want to see is two kids very happy, and if we can have that, that’s all that matters," he added.

Boomer has his own Instagram account with nearly 500k followers, and while his old posts document glimpses of his aquatic adventures, the eight-year-old seems to have taken a liking to golf per his latest posts, again, just like his father.