MALIBU CANYON, Calif. (KXAN) – It’s been a whirlwind year for Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte, and while some memories he probably wants to forget, on Sunday he created a new memory by proposing to his girlfriend Kayla Rae Reid.

” target=”_blank”>In an Instagram post late Sunday night, Lochte posted a photo of him kissing Reid (showing off her ring finger) with the Malibu beach in the background. Around the same time, Reid posted on her Instagram a similar photo with the caption: “Speechless. Absolutely beautiful. So in love with YOU.”

In an interview with USA Today Sports, Lochte said his family questioned the abruptness of the engagement but he responded with, “Can you put a time on love? Can you? When I realized this was ‘the one’ was when she stuck behind me through this.”

USA Today Sports says Reid, a former Playboy model, was staying with Lochte’s mother during the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. During that month, Lochte posted on social media various photos of Reid along with his family.

In an exclusive interview with TODAY’s Matt Lauer, Lochte called his behavior in Rio “immature” and said he was taking “full responsibility” for the incident. He added that he over-exaggerated the original incident, which he detailed to TODAY’s Billy Bush.