Adam Ramsay-Peaty opened up to hosts Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty on BBC Breakfast, admitting that it didn't always feel as if people liked him.
The swimmer has been in the headlines for comments made after missing out on gold at the Commonwealth Games, where he scooped three medals. In recent months he has also faced intense media scrutiny over his relationship and marriage to Holly Ramsay, who is the daughter of chef Gordon Ramsay, with whom he is now expecting a baby.
Emotional confession
At one point in the interview, Naga reminded the star that people "like" and "admire" him, but Adam admitted it didn't always feel that way.
"Well, I appreciate that," he said. "Thank you, thank you. Sometimes I don't feel like it, to be honest. But, I guess I'm just me, and I can't really, well, I can change that. I try and be a lot better than I can, or just try and be a little bit better than I was yesterday. And, if people agree with that, then fine. If people don't, then that's also fine."
"I don't have to agree with everyone," he said. "I just want people to know that I absolutely give my best, best every single day."
Commonwealth Games performance
Adam bagged two bronze medals and one silver at the event but was visibly emotional and spoke out after missing out on the gold. As he featured on the BBC programme, he said he knew he was "capable of more". "This week hasn't been ideal in terms of performance, I'm going to be honest, for various reasons," he went on.
He continued: "I know I work hard. I know, you know, I put everything on the line, every single day, for my job. And that's what it is, at the end of the day."
Adam expressed a desire to "correct" something, and when Naga's co-host Charlie Stayt queried what he was alluding to, he responded: "I don't know. I think, I think no matter what I say, it'll be interpreted how it wants to be interpreted, right? I've got no control over that. All I can get control over is, obviously, the passion I have, the energy I have."
"But also, I've got to show my disappointment, because I don't believe my performances were good enough. This is not what I worked for. And let's just be honest, that is sport. And I think we need more of that, more of that real emotion in this world."
He continued: "The stuff I've seen over this last few weeks, or, you know, even the last few days in the media, I'm like, OK, I didn't really say that, but it is what it is. But I think, for me, I just want people to know that, you know, I absolutely give my best."
The sports star also said he was "a very optimistic person". "And I always have a rule of a 24-hour debrief, so if anything's gone well or wrong, 24 hours, that's the maximum amount of time I give myself to kind of get over it," he explained.
BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One.
