Peaty, 31, the swimmer and Strictly Come Dancing star, made the comments in a Guardian interview published on Saturday, after a week he described as a "real rollercoaster" at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he collected two bronzes and a silver.
Speaking about the estrangement that emerged before his December 2025 wedding to Holly Ramsay, 26, the swimmer was asked whether reconciliation with his family was possible.
Forgiveness, but on his terms
"For me, as a Christian, there has to be forgiveness. It doesn't mean you have to forget, but forgiveness takes time," Peaty said. "I'm not saying that it won't get better but it has to come from a place where I feel like they've improved as people, in a sense, and opened that communication up. I haven't told one thing to the media. I haven't done one story over the last eight months and more."
Asked whether the public fallout had taken a toll, he said: "I wouldn't say on me because I've got a thick skin. But I care about my wife, I care about my son. I care about the relationships that people think I have with my son, and my own family, but that's my private life."
Peaty has a son, nearly six, from a previous relationship, and a daughter due in December.
Tears after bronze in Glasgow
At the Commonwealth Games, Peaty broke down in tears after the 100m breaststroke final, telling critics "you can't hurt me" and insisting they needed to "do better."
Explaining his disappointment at finishing third, he said: "It's hard because I know how hard I work. I know the s**t I've been through, which is no fault of my own, but it does take its toll. I'm not crying because it's bronze instead of gold. I'm crying because I know I am better than that. I feel like I couldn't have put any more in and that's where it hurts, because I'm like, 'What's the point of all the metres every day, what's the point of being exhausted all the time? What's the point of having to say no to family events so you can go to training'? It has to mean something and for me it has to be human excellence and that is not excellence for me."
"So that's the emotion that is unfortunately coming out. [Holly] is always going to be proud of me and I think as a father, it doesn't matter if you come home with a gold, as long as you come home with a teddy."
Family rift explained
Peaty's mother, Caroline, later posted: "I forgive people but that doesn't mean I accept their behaviour or trust them. I forgive them for me, so I can let go and move on with my life."
The relationship soured before the wedding, reportedly after Caroline expressed hurt at being excluded from Holly's hen-party at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds. Victoria Beckham was invited to the celebrations, but Caroline was allegedly asked to stay home and care for Peaty's son from a previous relationship.
According to the report, Caroline was told she would not be welcome at the wedding at Bath Cathedral, while Peaty's father was told he could attend only if he remained at the back of the church. He declined, and on the day only Peaty's sister Bethany was present from his side of the family.
Caroline has previously acknowledged speaking to a newspaper early in the falling-out but insists she has not spoken publicly about him since, and has hinted she is ready to build bridges. She said: "He's our son who we love, whom we supported to reach his aspirations. Our love, our time, our sacrifices were given freely with no expectation of financial reward just genuinely given with the love as any mother and father would do for their child."
