The family of swimmer Adam Ramsay-Peaty are pleading with him to reconcile with his estranged mother Caroline following his defeat at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he failed to win a predicted gold medal.
A family insider told the Daily Mail that Adam should come home and speak to his mother. "Come home and talk to your mother. You know your mum will forgive you anything! Please don't hurt her any more," the source said. "You both need to heal. Even the public are turning against you."
Adam, 31, broke down in tears after finishing third in the 100m breaststroke final on Saturday. He acknowledged the family feud publicly, saying the fallout "has taken its toll" and that the situation during training was "no fault of my own."
He left Glasgow with two bronze medals in the individual 50m and 100m breaststroke events and a silver in the mixed 4x100m medley relay. His only poolside support came from his wife Holly Ramsay, who is pregnant with the couple's first child, a girl due in December.
The family source said a small gathering had watched from home and remained proud despite the results. "It's a shame he didn't get the piece of metal he wanted. But bronze is better than naught," the source said. "We're still proud of him but he seems to have lost some focus, and he's the first one to admit that."
The roots of the conflict, according to the source, go back to 2024, when Adam and Holly did not invite wider members of the Peaty family to their engagement party or wedding. His parents Caroline and Mark were also barred from attending the Games in person and watched their son compete on television for the first time.
The family insider pushed back hard on Adam's suggestion that the feud contributed to his performance. "Adam blaming his family for his failure at the Commonwealth Games is not right," the source said, adding that he should "take accountability" of his own actions instead.
The source also criticised Adam for focusing on his personal situation in post-race interviews rather than praising fellow competitors, specifically citing teenage swimmer Archie Goodbourn, who competed with inoperable brain tumours. "Where was the praise for him? It was all about the self-indulgent Adam," the source said.
Adam's mother Caroline, 60, a former nursery manager, has stated publicly that she will "always support him from afar." In a social media post earlier this week she wrote that her love and support for her son had always been given freely, with no expectation of financial reward.
Caroline also revealed that she and other family members had been targeted by online abuse from trolls she described as "vile" and "truly evil."
Holly, 26, was quick to support her husband after his disappointing week in Glasgow. In an Instagram post she described watching his return to championship racing as "inspiring" and said the couple would keep going "through the good and the bad together."
Adam, competing under his new married name for the first time, has said he aims to return to the top of the sport for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. He said he would "almost have to forget the experience" of the week and learn from it quickly.
The Daily Mail said it had contacted Adam's representatives for comment.
