Greg Louganis’ estranged husband John Chaillot files for divorce after seven years of marriage

Greg Louganis has filed for divorce from his estranged husband, John Chaillot.

Paperwork to dissolve the union was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week, TMZ reports.

The decision to end the eight-year marriage was mutual, the website reports, and the 61-year-old gold medalist expressed gratitude for the couple’s friends and supporters. 

Splitting up: Greg Louganis’ estranged husband John Chaillot filed for divorce from the former Olympic medalist last week; they are seen in 2018

Louganis and Chaillot were first romantically connected in 2012 after they initially met on the Match dating site. 

They went on to announce their engagement in June of 2013 and tied the knot later that year. 

Shortly after the two decided to tie the knot, the athlete spoke to People about his desire to be with the paralegal for the rest of his life.  

‘I finally met my soul mate – the more I fall in love with Johnny, the more I fall in love with myself. This is what the universe had in store for both of us,’ he said.  

Taking it in stride: The former diver spoke to TMZ and expressed gratitude for the couple’s friends and fans who supported them through their marriage; he is seen in 2019

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Starting off: Louganis and Chaillot initially met on the Match dating site in 2012; they are pictured at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2019

Following the pair’s nuptials, Louganis told People that their wedding had been a transformative experience. 

The former Olympian told the media outlet, ‘I already feel different. The ceremony was so reflective and representative of who we are.’

He then expressed that he had grown especially close to his husband in the relatively brief period of time that they had been together. 

The athlete remarked, ‘It has been an incredible journey…I feel like we’ve been through a lifetime in a very short time.’  

Moving fast: The former Olympian and his former husband announced their engagement in June of 2013 and tied the knot that same year; they are seen in 2020

Being honest: Shortly after his marriage, Louganis spoke to People and told the media outlet that he and his husband have ‘been through a lifetime in a very short time’; he is seen in 1982

Prior to becoming involved with his estranged husband, Louganis was in a relationship with R. James Babbitt that lasted throughout much of the 1980s. 

The former Olympian later alleged that he had been sexually assaulted at knifepoint by his former partner, from whom he eventually filed a restraining order.

Babbitt later passed away from the effects of AIDS shortly after informing the diver about his status in 1988.

The athlete found out that he had tested positive for HIV that same year, shortly before the start of the Olympics in South Korea.  

Changes: The athlete later found out that he had been diagnosed with HIV in 1988; he is seen competing in 1983

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Their relationship was later expanded on in the 1997 television film Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story, which saw Mario Lopez portraying the diver. 

Louganis kept the news about his condition under wraps for several years, during which his health deteriorated to the point where he began to fear that his life was coming to an end.

The diver waited for his health to significantly recover before he publicly spoke about his experience with the disease during a widely publicized 1995 interview with Barbara Walters.

He has been a vocal advocate for HIV awareness and LGBT rights ever since then, and his life and career were covered in the 2014 documentary Back on Board: Greg Louganis.

Making a difference: The athlete has since become a vocal advocate for HIV awareness and LGBT rights; he is seen in 2020