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Adam Peaty-Ramsay hinted his family rift is weighing on him as he said he has been feeling 'off this week and doesn't know why' after failing to secure gold again.
Hours before his 50m breaststroke final at the Commonwealth Games, Adam's mother Caroline Peaty declared she will 'always support him from afar'.
Caroline, 60, claimed she and her husband Mark expect nothing back from her Olympian son, who is embroiled in a bitter family rift with her.
Throughout his life, his parents have sat poolside during his competitions, and the games marked the first major competition since their public fallout.
It was agony for Adam as he missed out on gold once again, finishing in third place to earn another bronze medal, with South Africa's Michael Houlie storming to victory.
Speaking after the race, Adam admitted he's already struggled with 'ups and downs' during his swimming career, and he's felt 'off' throughout his time in Glasgow.
Reflecting on a difficult couple of years, Adam said: 'The harder you try the slower you go. The last two years have been tough to get the speed back.'
Adam Peaty-Ramsay hinted his family rift is weighing on him as he said he has been feeling 'off this week' in a post-race interview after failing to secure gold again
Hours before his 50m breaststroke final at the Commonwealth Games, Adam's mother Caroline Peaty declared she will 'always support him from afar'
Adam was consoled by his wife Holly when he missed out on gold and finished in third place during Monday night's 50m breaststroke final
When asked what his 'main takeaways' from the games have been, Adam said: 'Quite a lot, too many.
'For me, just getting back to enjoying my training. I'm not going to be too hard for myself.
'I think my whole career there has been a lot of ups and downs, two thirds of it was very good and then I lost my way, lost my purpose.
'I don't even know what tomorrow looks like really, there's a lot of learning. I've felt 'off' this week and I don't know why. We are trying new things.
Speaking over the weekend, Adam seemed to blame his estrangement from his family on his ability to secure a gold medal so far at the Commonwealth Games.
And just before the race, Caroline seemingly responded to Adam's statement as she said she expects nothing back from her Olympian son.
The former nursery manager penned: 'He's our son whom we love, whom we supported to reach his aspirations.
'Our love, our time, our sacrifices were given freely with no expectation or financial reward, just genuinely given with the love any mother and father would do for their child.'
Caroline revealed that she and her family had been subjected to cruel abuse from online trolls who have been 'vile' and 'truly evil'.
Adam blamed the 's***' he had been through this year for a tired display in his specialist event
It comes after he failed to win a predicted gold medal in the 100m breaststroke on Saturday, finishing third, and appeared to blame his lacklustre performance partly on his family feud, saying it 'has taken its toll'.
While Holly, who is expecting the couple's first child in December, has been a high-profile spectator cheering her husband on at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, his parents have not been poolside for the first time to support their son in person.
Caroline fears there is 'something or someone at play wanting to destroy our family completely'.
But the defiant mum posted: 'I have news for you. We are strong, we love and we are always there for each other.'
She stated on Facebook: 'It has taken a lot of thought and deep strength to write this post.
'There are many trolls on social media and making comments about us, which are truly evil and very untrue.
'The very nature of our strength as a family has helped us move past the nastiness, the lies that have been told about us.
'We have nothing to prove, we just want to be left alone.'
Caroline, who told the Daily Mail she hit rock bottom when Adam banned her from his life and had even contemplated suicide in the depths of her despair, pleaded with people to leave her alone to 'move on with our life'.
The grandmother of seven, who now has two more grandkids on the way, is said to 'live for her grandchildren'.
Adam and Holly are expecting a daughter in five months, while her daughter Bethany, a mother-of-two, recently revealed she is also pregnant with a new baby due in January.
While Holly, who is expecting the couple's first child in December, has been a high-profile spectator cheering her husband on
In a rare social media post, Caroline revealed she expects nothing back from her Olympian son who is embroiled in a bitter family rift with her
World record holder Ramsay-Peaty suffered more Games heartbreak as he finished in third place during the final
Caroline wrote: 'I've taken this for over eight months and enough is enough. Leave us alone to move on with our life and enjoy growing our family.'
Her post is alongside a carefully chosen but cryptic saying entitled: 'Truth is so important to me.'
It states: 'I forgive people but that doesn't mean I accept their behaviour or trust them. I forgive them for me so I can let go and move on with my life.'
These Games represent the first time Adam's parents have not been poolside cheering him on at a major event, with them reportedly being excluded from watching him compete.
Following his interview at the Commonwealth Games, a relative hit back, saying: 'The hurt you feel over a medal does not compare to the hurt you have caused your mother.'
A family source then spoke on condition of anonymity and told the Daily Mail: 'Adam is playing the blame game now. The 'woe is me' card'.
In a stark message to the swimmer, they went on: 'Just take accountability for your own actions for once, Adam, instead of blaming us.
'The hurt you feel over a medal does not compare to the hurt your mother felt when she said she did not want to be on this planet any more...
'The hurt you inflicted on her when you stopped her from seeing her grandson [from a previous relationship] out of spite, who she loves with every fibre of her being, and stopped from watching you marry.
'You made comments to friends that we would try and disrupt your games. We haven't been there. To blame us for your failure is not right Adam.
'Don't blame your family for your bronze. You need to look closer to home and in the mirror.'
Adam at Buckingham Palace in 2017, with his now estranged parents, Caroline and Mark, where he was an awarded an MBE in honour of his gold medal win at the Rio Olympics
Team England's President, Olympian cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, praised Adam for being so emotional and vulnerable after missing out on gold in the 100m breaststroke final
They added: 'You are having a crisis of conscience. Shame on you all. Blame yourself for isolating yourself from the support network that has been there since you were born.'
The insider said: 'We love you Adam, that's all we have done, and are proud of what you have achieved but we don't like who you have become.
'You became famous. You met Holly and you changed.'
Adam's remarks, apparently blaming his former loved ones for his bronze, also caused a backlash against him on social media.
In the interview after his defeat, a visibly upset Adam acknowledged the family feud and said the fallout 'has taken its toll'.
'It's hard because I know how hard I've worked,' he said. 'I know the s**t I've been through, which is no fault of my own. It does take a toll.'
The following day, he spoke to Team England's President, Olympian cyclist Dame Laura Kenny, who commended him for being so emotional and vulnerable after missing out on gold in the 100m breaststroke final.
Seemingly referencing Adam hinting at his family fallout, Laura praised him for giving 'the most personal interview' she'd ever heard him do.
Fighting back tears, Adam then gave Laura a heartfelt interview, too, admitting that he'd become more emotional since becoming a father. The swimmer shares five-year-old son George with ex, Eirianedd Munro, and is expecting a daughter with Holly.
Adam began: 'Thank you firstly, you're making me emotional again. Tell you what, it's what it's like being parents, isn't it?
'I think for me, I said it over there, you know, people congratulate me doing the heats. I'm like, what for? It's just my job, right?
'But actually I think sometimes we do forget and sometimes we do forget the importance of sport.
'And for me actually just, you know, showing up this morning and doing a job, that was just the process, right?
'And then tonight was a little bit different. I added a little bit of a layer on top of that. But to get from this morning to tonight was actually a postmortem.'
He continued: 'And yes we lost the battle yesterday, yes, it hurt a lot. But actually that was because of the expectation upon myself when really I'm just at the start of this new canvas of being.
Adam later took to Instagram to reflect on his time in the competition.
Sharing a snap of himself in the pool and a sweet snap with Holly, he penned: 'A proud moment for me after a monumental effort to climb back from the Olympics two years ago.
'But as we know, sport is cruel, it's the same reason that it's beautiful. But why do it? I still love standing on the blocks, hearing the roar of the crowd, fighting inch by inch in every stroke, putting myself on the line, and, because I'm not finished.
'Ultimately, I know these are the stories I will be telling my children and their children.'
He called his bronze medal a 'bittersweet moment', yet acknowledged that his story can't always be 'filled with glory, victory and gold'.
Adam continued: 'To the people out there who want to hurt me and my family with comments, I have seen this story a thousand times with other athletes from many sports.
'We are athletes, doing something we love and that is our deepest passion. As it's said, be the change you want to see in the world, and, I want a better world for the next generation of athletes. Love always wins.'
The roots of the family conflict go back to 2024, when Adam and Holly snubbed wider members of the Peaty family by not inviting them to their engagement party and wedding.
The swimmer's strained relationship with his parents has clearly taken its toll on Adam, as he was overcome with emotion after the result
Following the race and his comments, Adam took to Instagram to share images from the race alongside a lengthy caption reading: 'My 50th International Championship Medal'
His mum Caroline, who spent years ferrying her son to early-morning training sessions, was also not invited to Holly's glamorous hen do.
Then, months later, Adam broke his silence on the feud as he insisted there are 'two sides to every story' in a statement he posted on Instagram.
He added in his post-swim interview: 'I'm never afraid to show emotion. It's important because it helps create stronger people, stronger men, stronger fathers and stronger husbands.
'This cycle especially, I've worked harder than ever. To get a result like that hurts because I know I'm better than that.
'It's still very raw. I honestly feel like I deserve more. There's a lot of thinking to do, but it's too early to draw any conclusions.
'Maybe it was just an off swim. Maybe it's because I've been away from championship racing for two years. I honestly don't know.
'What's the point of all the 5.30am starts? What's the point of all the metres every single day? What's the point of being exhausted all the time, or missing family events because you have to train?'
Adam – competing under his new name of Ramsay-Peaty – added: 'It has to mean something. For me, that means striving for excellence, and today wasn't excellence. That's where the emotion comes from.
'The choices I've made over the last few months have been difficult. At the same time, I'm proud that I got here and that I didn't quit after Paris [Olympics]. I know I deserve more, and I know I can work for it.
'It's been two years since I've raced heats, semis and finals, so maybe it's just an adjustment. It's too early to know what I'm capable of at this stage, but I'm a fighter.
'We've got another opportunity at the Europeans in two weeks, and I do enjoy a scrap. I lost that scrap today, but that's sport. Most of the time I've won those battles – this time I didn't.'
He continued: 'Over the last couple of months, I've had to make some hard decisions so I could focus on doing my job.
'I've had to ignore a lot of the rubbish people write online. Enough is enough. This goes beyond sport. It's about being decent people. We all have to do better.
'My wife will always be proud of me. As a father, it doesn't matter whether you come home with a gold medal, as long as you come home. That's what really matters.'
For support, call the Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org