SUMMARY
- Riley Gaines is a former University of Kentucky swimmer.
- Gaines shot to fame for her activism against the inclusion of transgender women in women's sports.
Riley Gaines is a famous American swimmer most well-known for her activism against the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports. She was a college-level swimmer for her alma mater University of Kentucky. Also at the University of Kentucky, was Gaines’ future husband Louis Barker.
Gaines is a 12x All-American swimmer. However, she is not a relative of 3x Olympic gold medallist swimmer Rowdy Gaines.
Riley garnered significant attention and recognition after she tied with UPenn’s Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer competing on the women’s team, at the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships. This event sparked controversy. It prompted Gaines to speak out against what she perceived as injustices in women’s sports.
She directly experienced competing against a transgender athlete. Gaines became “one of the most powerful voices to speak out against” what she called an “injustice” on her website. Her outspokenness on this issue made her a prominent figure challenging the rules of various governing bodies. However, her outspokenness has not come without backlash. She has faced significant criticism for her views by trans-right supporters.
Gaines has even heavily involved herself in politics in her early 20s. However, this has not stopped her from living a happy story in her personal life. Gaines, no matter how politically involved, was a college student. She enjoyed a college love story that turned into marriage with Barker.
Who is Riley Gaines’ husband Louis Barker?
According to several reports, Louis Barker was born in September 1999 in Crawley, England. He is less than a year older than Gaines who was born in April 2000. His father is Aidan Barker and his mother is Julie Barker. Louis also has a brother named Marcus Barker.
Louis attended the Millfield School and moved to the United States to join the University of Kentucky. He joined the University in 2018 and majored in Business Management. Finally, he graduated in 2022.
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Louis has been into athletics since his high school days. Reports suggest he used to play multiple sports during his school time and continued to participate in swimming at his university.
It is assumed that this is what led to the meeting between Barker and Gaines. They were both members of the swimming team at the University of Kentucky.
According to his LinkedIn account, he co-founded The Pool House LLC in January 2021. It was a swimming pool and landscaping design and construction company. As of now, he is the owner of LCB Pools, LLC. Barker resides in Tennessee.
Riley Gaines’ late post on Instagram created confusions about her marriage date
Barker’s first Instagram post involving Gaines came in 2019. It is expected that their relationship began in that year. Although Barker does not post much, he has several posts involving Gaines.
On the other hand, Gainer has posted a lot of pictures of the couple together. In May 2018, she posted an image of Barker proposing to her and claimed that she was two months late from posting it. It could be assumed that the pair got engaged sometime in March 2022.
Her post after marriage came on May 29, 2022, prompting people to think they got married on that day. However, a year later, on May 22, 2023, she posted about their anniversary. She even mentioned that the date was May 22, 2022.
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The couple has now shared over a year of marriage. According to Gaines’ latest posts, the pair has bought land in Tennessee and built their house from scratch. They even share a dog named Lady.