‘It sucked’: How Emily Seebohm caught ex-boyfriend Mitch Larkin ‘cheating’

Emily Seebohm says her public, bitter split from fellow Aussie swim star Mitch Larkin got so messy lawyers had to get involved.

Australian swimmer Emily Seebohm says she split from ex-boyfriend Mitch Larkin because “he was cheating”, revealing lawyers had to get involved in their messy break-up.

Seebohm and fellow swim star Larkin broke up in 2018 and messy details were aired in public as social media swipes and cryptic posts made their love life headline-grabbing news.

The 29-year-old is a contestant on the new season of Channel 10’s I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here and opened up about the break-up in Wednesday night’s episode.

Seebohm was asked by former Married At First Sight star Davina Rankin if she had ever felt uncomfortable in public situations when her private life was in turmoil.

“There was a little bit of s**t when I broke up with my two exes,” Seebohm said. “My swimmer partner, I worked out he was cheating. Then he denied it hardcore.

“I was stupid. I made it public because I posted stuff. I was so angry.”

When pressed on how she came to the conclusion Larkin was cheating, Seebohm said she “saw messages” and had a “gut feeling and then I looked at his phone and it blew my mind”.

Larkin has always denied cheating on Seebohm. “I did not cheat. I absolutely did not cheat,” he told the Courier-Mail in 2018.

Seebohm said she and Larkin fell out so badly they had to engage lawyers to help them deal with the house they had together.

Seebohm and Larkin were swimming’s golden couple. Picture: Mark Stewart

Seebohm said their break-up was “awful”.

“Because we had a house it was like going through a divorce,” she said.

“We had to have mediation. It was awful. Two lawyers, we both had a lawyer. It was terrible.”

Seebohm said it was so awkward between the pair she’d feel “anxious” when she’d see Larkin, who is also a backstroker on the Australian swimming team.

“We were on the same team as each other,” she said. “It used to make me really anxious. I’d get scared of seeing him.”

Seebohm added she hasn’t been on speaking terms with Larkin since their break-up.

“I don’t talk to him anymore,” she said.

Seebohm, who won bronze in the 200m backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics, said it was a difficult time when her personal life was being played out so publicly.

“When two people break up it’s never enjoyable for anyone,” she said in a piece-to-camera.

Seebohm’s performance in Tokyo was one of the highlights of the Olympics. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“I think there’s some things I’d like more privacy with but unfortunately that just wasn’t the case for that situation and it sucked.”

Seebohm previously revealed she went into a downward spiral after the break-up, which played a part in her developing an eating disorder.

But she’s now turned a corner and is enjoying life with her family and new partner.

“For me personally, I believe going through hard things is the only way you can find things that are so good in your life,” she said.

“I’m in a much better place probably because I’ve been so open in the last couple of years. “I’ve found so much love for my family which I always have, love with my friends and love with my new partner and I get that love back from all of them.”