Michael Phelps: 'I wanted to keep marriage a secret'

Olympian Michael Phelps has confirmed he is a married man, insisting he wanted to keep his marriage to Nicole Johnson quiet "just because".

The couple hit headlines earlier this week (ends28Oct16) when it was reported the pair had tied the knot in mid-June (16), a month-and-a-half before Phelps extended his record-breaking medals streak at the Rio Olympics in Brazil, where Nicole was frequently referred to as his fiancee.

On Thursday (27Oct16), the decorated athlete came clean to his fans and revealed he's "been married for a while".

"I had to keep it a secret from y'all. I had to keep it hush-hush from you guys," he said during a live stream on Facebook. "But Nicole and I are married, we are officially married and now we are getting the chance to kind of kick it and hang out now."

Phelps, who welcomed son Boomer with Johnson in May (16), also hinted at the possibility of expanding the family soon.

"Baby number two may be coming soon. Who knows, though?" he smiled.

The Olympic swimmer and Johnson reportedly wed in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and the quiet ceremony was officiated by Phelps' longtime friend and agent Peter Carlisle. The couple filed the Record of Marriage on 15 June (16).

The swimming ace first caught wind of the marriage story during a Facebook Live chat with fans last week (ends21Oct16), when he flatly denied he and Johnson were husband and wife.