Exclusive: Ryan Lochte on Family, Food, and Reading Women's Minds

The What Would Ryan Lochte Do? star talks dating and mind reading

By Andy Neuenschwander Apr 18, 2013 11:37 PMTags
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With his collection of gold medals and a world record or two under his belt, you might already consider Ryan Lochte to be a superhero. But there's one non-water-related superpower Lochte would still like to have.

"To read women's minds," Lochte said, wistfully. "If I could have that power, I'd be ruling the world."

But don't let Lochte's wish to get in your brain make you think that he has inappropriate motives; on his new series What Would Ryan Lochte Do?, Lochte is just looking for love while balancing his training and spending time with his family. In an exclusive interview with E! Online, Lochte opened up about all this and more.

On Being Star Struck: With his appearances on TV shows and hobnobbing with athletes like Dwyane Wade, we asked who had Lochte truly star struck. "I would have to say Carmen Electra," Lochte said with a smile. "Growing up as a little boy, watching Baywatch, she was every boy's dream. I finally got the chance to meet her, and I couldn't talk!"

On the Perfect Lochte Date: Since he's single, we asked Lochte what he usually does if he takes a girl out. "Definitely get some food," he said. "I always have to eat, I have to keep up with my calories...so yeah, we definitely have to be eating something."

On Acting: "It was different," Lochte said of his cameos on 30 Rock and 90210. "I like doing different things...after the Olympics I had the chance to do things that I enjoyed, so it was a lot of fun."

But ask him if acting is harder than swimming, and there's no question for Lochte. "Oh, so much," he admitted. "I mean, I can swim in front of millions and millions of people, but with acting, you have to know your lines, and the body positions and where to stand."

On Family: You will see the Lochtes bowling together or making cupcakes, but family activities aren't always a must in the Lochte household: "We just like being together," Lochte said. "We don't even have to do anything, we can just sit on a couch and just hang out and talk."

"Because of my training and because of their lives, we don't see each other all the time," he added. "What's so great about this show is honestly, it brought our family closer together."

Be sure to tune in for the series premiere of What Would Ryan Lochte Do? this Sunday, April 21 at 10/9c, only on E!