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Michael Phelps' father, Fred Phelps, has passed away. The Olympian announced on Monday by posting photos of his father as a tribute on his social media handles.
It is known that Phelps didn't have the best relationship with his father. The athlete has often spoken about his parents' divorce and struggles growing up with his father away. It was only recently that the swimmer patched up his relationship with Fred. Phelps, brought up by his mother, Deborah Phelps, revealed that he was finally on talking terms with his father after a long time.
Now, Fred Phelps has passed away. Sharing three throwback photos featuring his dad, Michael Phelps noted that he would miss his father.
The 37-year-old wrote on Instagram:
"You'll always be my dad… And I'll always be your son… Love you dad and I will miss you❤️❤️ rip dad"
The three photos gave an insight into the 23-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer's relationship with his father. The first photo showed a young Michael standing in his Maryland State Trooper uniform with his father. The second and third photos showed Fred with Michael and one of his children.
The photos provided an insight into Michael and Fred Phelps' relationship and how it evolved over the years. Many, including the swimmer's athlete friends, shared their well wishes under the post. One among them was Lindsey Vonn, who wrote,
"I'm so sorry for your loss. He will always be there."
Meanwhile, former NBA player Chandler Parsons noted,
"Thinking of u my brotha."
Michael Phelps on his relationship with his father
While it wasn't the best father-and-son relationship, it's safe to say that the duo did patch up sooner than later. According to a 2016 Sports Illustrated article, Michael Phelps patched things up with his father in 2014. The swimmer met Fred following his drunk driving arrest, a low point in the swimmer's life. The father and son reconnected during rehab and got back on talking terms.
In an interview with Tony Robbins, Phelps addressed the same and revealed that he had never had a conversation with Fred for around 20 years since his parents' divorce. Speaking about their meeting during his recovery program, Phelps said:
“That was probably the first time I had a face-to-face conversation with my father. It was in an environment that was controlled and we couldn’t blow up and get hot-headed, just explode on each other. That was so beneficial for where our relationship has grown since then.”
He added:
“I didn’t want to invite him, but my therapist told me to invite him… He came, he showed up and I was very surprised and we were able to get a lot off our chest, almost compartmentalized 15-20 years of pain we both suffered… I think one of the things I learned is, he did the best he could… We talked about that things that frustrated me growing up.”
Michael Phelps further stated:
"It's been really great for our relationship to be able to have these talking boundaries we use… help us have an adult conversation.”
This wasn't the first time Michael Phelps opened up about his father during interviews. It is pertinent to note that the Olympian has mentioned the difficulties he faced growing up without a father. He also mentioned how his coach Bob Bowman and his agent Peter Carlisle acted as his father figures during his early days.
