American swimmer and Olympic medalist Amanda Ray Beard, was born on October 29, 1981 in Newport Beach, California. She formerly held the world record for the long course 200-meter breaststroke. Her interest and talent in swimming were not only confined in the local swimming team but it even brought her to the Atlanta Olympics Games in 1996, where she was labeled as the second youngest Olympic medalist in the history of American swimming. She had a part in her life where she struggled with bulimia nervosa and depression; nonetheless, she entered therapy and coped up. Along with Rebecca Paley, Amanda authored In the Water They Can’t See You Cry: A Memoir, which she considers as a line of communication where she could inspire and reach out to others, especially her family. Aside from swimming, she also appeared in magazines such as FHM, Playboy, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
Amanda started dating Ryk Neethling, a South African swimmer, in the year 1999; however, their relationship was filled with ups and downs as described by Amanda in her book. She admitted that they were under the influence of drugs and she reached the point of cutting herself just to escape the painful reality that she was facing. Ryk, however, denied Amanda’s statement about the use of drugs because according to him, as an international athlete, he was constantly subjected to random drug testing and successfully passed each one of them. In 2005, she started dating NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, but the relationship lasted only for a year because according to Amanda, Carl was a controlling and jealous partner, but these descriptions were refuted by the NASCAR driver. Fortunately, her unfavorable emotional and physical undertakings slowly came to a halt when she met and married professional photographer, Sacha Brown, whom Amanda considers as her ‘knight in shining armour’.
Relationship History (2014 – Age 33):
Current Spouse/Partner:
Amanda Beard is currently married to Sacha Brown. They were married in a sunset ceremony in Wakatobi, Indonesia on May 1, 2009.
Previous Spouse/Partners:
Ryk Neethling (1999)
Carl Edwards (2005)
Sacha Brown (2006)
Kids:
Blaise Ray Brown
Doone Isla Brown
Starsign:
Scorpio
Networth:
$500 Thousand