"My sisters were crying" - When Michael Phelps opened up about the moment his parents disclosed heartbreaking news that changed their lives completely

Michael Phelps once opened up on the heartbreaking moment when his parents disclosed the news of their divorce to the swimmer and his siblings. The swimmer was born to Fred and Deborah Phelps on June 30, 1985.

The couple also shared Phelps' siblings, Hillary and Whitney Phelps. In 1994, when the former Olympian was nine years old, his parents separated, following which he developed a strained relationship with his father until 2014. While his father was a retired Maryland state trooper, Deborah was the principal of Windsor Mill Middle School in the Baltimore County Public Schools.

After the separation, Deborah raised the three kids as a single mother. In his candid memoir 'Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface,' originally published in 2004, the former swimmer reflected on the tough moment as a nine-year-old.

"I walked into my parents’ room at our old house on Chesapeake Avenue one day," Phelps reflected. "My mom had a very sad look on her face and my sisters were crying. You know how you walk into a room and realize you’ve interrupted a heavy conversation and you don’t know how to make a graceful exit? I felt like that. I didn’t know what I’d walked into, but I knew it wasn’t good."

"I remember that this was something I’d never seen before, because everyone was sad. I figured it was just something I, as the little kid, wasn’t supposed to understand," he added.

Michael Phelps reacts to his wife Nicole Johnson's heartfelt birthday wish

Nicole Phelps and Michael Phelps at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Getty Images)

Michael Phelps celebrated his 40th birthday on June 30, 2025. On the joyful occasion, his wife Nicole Johnson penned a heartfelt message while reflecting on his three decades and wrote:

"Happy Birthday Babe 💙 30s was a super special decade. May this next decade of birthdays be as memorable as the last. I love you more 😋"

Phelps reacted to the post, writing:

"😘😘 thanks honey!!"

Screenshot of the Instagram post's comment section.

Phelps and Nicole met for the first time at the 2007 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. The couple then dated each other on an on-and-off basis till 2015, after which they got engaged.

Phelps and Nicole secretly tied the knot in June 2016 before the swimmer headed to the Rio Olympics. They again exchanged their vows in October in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The couple now shares four children: Boomer, Beckett, Maverick, and Nico.