Daiya Seto: Federation Furious Over Nightlife Divorce Reports and Risking National Team Ban

“Mother Complex” Divorce

An Olympic medalist in men’s swimming, Daiya Seto, has been hit with divorce reports.

The November 21st issue of Weekly Bunshun detailed the story under the headline “Daiya Seto’s Mother Complex Divorce.” According to the report, his wife, former Japanese national diver Yuka Mabuchi, became fed up with Seto’s unchanging playboy habits and initiated the divorce.

The two, who had been dating since university, married in 2017. They had a daughter in 2018 and a second daughter in 2020. However, their once-harmonious married life did not last long.

In 2020, shortly after the birth of their second daughter, Seto’s affair was exposed by Weekly Shincho. It was reported that he was caught having a secret meeting with a flight attendant from an airline in broad daylight at a hotel. The following week, Shincho published a report titled “Affair Medley,” detailing his rendezvous with a woman from a regional area and a hostess, forcing both Seto and Mabuchi to apologize.

“After the Shincho report, it seemed like the couple reconciled for a while, but Seto’s womanizing habits didn’t change. He continued to misbehave, secretly engaging in affairs while keeping it from Mabuchi, and this time it was exposed. In fact, Seto’s late-night outings had long been rumored in the industry, and most people are saying, ‘He hasn’t learned a thing’ and ‘It’s surprising it hasn’t been exposed until now,'” said a sports reporter.

According to Bunshun, the two began living separately this spring. The sports reporter mentioned that around that time, Mabuchi experienced some changes.

“With the Paris Olympics approaching in the summer, attention was expected to turn toward Seto as a representative of Japan. At that point, Mabuchi reportedly instructed the media not to refer to her as ‘Daiya Seto’s wife’ and requested that no photos of the two together be used. At that moment, there were growing concerns about their marriage.”

Amidst this, swimming industry insiders are shaking their heads, saying,

“Of all the times, why now?”