Getty Allison Schmitt of the United States reacts after competing in a semifinal heat for the Women's 200m freestyle during Day Three of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at CHI Health Center on June 15, 2021.
Eight-time medalist Allison Schmitt is competing at her fourth Olympics this summer and the 31-year-old is looking to add some more hardware to her medal collection.
While Schmitt has been an open book about her battle with depression, the veteran swimmer is incredibly tight-lipped about her personal life. Schmitt, who’s incredibly close with her parents, Ralph and Gail Schmitt, along with her four siblings, is not married, and she appears to be single.
If she is dating anyone special, such information remains out of the public eye. It seems that instead of dating in her spare time, she has focused on being her best self and lifting up others.
The Michigan native, known as “Schmitty” to her teammates, was uncomfortable with the celebrity aspect of her career following the 2012 London Olympics. However, it took her some time to admit that she was suffering from depression and anxiety.
“Everything has always gone my way, and I was very grateful for the life I had, the opportunities I had, the successes I had,” Schmitt told TIME. “So it was very hard for me to accept that I was struggling because I didn’t want to seem ungrateful.”
“It got to the point where I was lying in my bed crying because I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore,” Schmitt continued. “I didn’t want to die, I just didn’t want to be living through what I was going through anymore.”
The University of Georgia alum, who’s earned four golds, two silver, and two bronze medals over the past three Olympic games, was also once again named captain of the USA’s swim team this year.
“It’s an amazing honor,” Schmitt said during a Zoom interview with WDTN. “I’m going to carry that title with pride, but like I told the girls, that doesn’t make me any more special or put me on a pedestal; we’re all Team USA and we’re going for the same goals. And so I’m just excited to be a part of this team.”
Schmitt will be swimming in the 4×200 freestyle and the 200 freestyle.
Schmitt Is Best Friends With Michael Phelps, but They Are Not Romantically Involved
GettyMichael Phelps hugs Allison Schmitt while she is interviewed during the 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Training Camp Media Day on July 16, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas.
During one of the Olympic qualifying meets in June, rumors swirled Schmitt was romantically involved with fellow Olympic champion, Michael Phelps, after he “raced down from the stands to giver her a long embrace,” 4WWL reported. However, the two are merely very close friends.
Phelps, the most decorated Olympic winner in U.S. history, is married to Nicole Johnson, and together they three children — Schmitt considers them to be like family. She even walked their son, Boomer, down the aisle when Phelps and Johnson tied the knot in 2016, per ABC News.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words,” Schmitt said of her relationship with Phelps. “He’s been a brother inside the pool and outside the pool. It helped me so much. Even now, when he’s not swimming, he’s a huge part of it.”
Schmitt was Briefly Rumored to be Dating Australian Swimmer Grant Hackett
Back in December 2017, Schmitt was also rumored to be dating Australian swimmer Grant Hackett, whom Daily Mail Australia report she met through Phelps. However, Hackett had told The Daily Telegraph in May 2017 that that was no truth to the rumors.
“Allison has been a good friend of mine for years through swimming,” Hackett said. “There is nothing else further there.” Hackett was previously married to Candice Alley, with whom he shares twin children. He’s since remarried to Sharlene Hackett in December 2020, and together they share one son.