Lexi Thompson hasn’t “disappeared” or had a single dramatic incident; she has gradually stepped back from full‑time professional golf, moving into a semi‑retired, lighter‑schedule phase and focusing more on her personal life, including her upcoming wedding in March 2026. She still plays select LPGA and charity events and remains relevant in big tournaments, but she’s no longer grinding a full season like earlier in her career.

What Happened to Lexi Thompson?

Quick Scoop

Lexi Thompson’s story over the last few years is less about scandal and more about a slow reset of her life and career. Here’s the breakdown of what happened to Lexi Thompson and why people keep asking this question.

1. Stepping Back: Semi‑Retirement and Schedule Changes

Around 2024, Lexi announced she would step away from playing a full LPGA schedule, which many fans interpreted as “retirement,” even though she never fully left competitive golf.

Key points:

  • She announced a form of semi‑retirement in 2024, explicitly saying she wanted to focus on her health, well‑being, and life outside the grind of tour golf.
  • She spoke about the mental and emotional toll of professional golf, describing aspects of her journey as “lonely” and alluding to the pressure and scrutiny she faced over the years.
  • Even after that announcement, she still played a full 2024 season before starting to scale down her schedule in 2025.

By 2025, Lexi was no longer a week‑in, week‑out presence on tour, but she remained competitive when she did play, including contending again at the Chevron Championship, the major she famously won earlier in her career.

2. Performance, Pressure, and “What Happened?” Narratives

The question “what happened to Lexi Thompson” also comes from her arc as a prodigy who didn’t fully match the towering expectations fans had early on.

  • She burst onto the scene as a teenager, quickly becoming one of the faces of women’s golf and a major‑championship winner.
  • Over time, her inconsistent putting, some painful late‑round mistakes, and very public near‑misses at majors fed a narrative that she “couldn’t close” under pressure.
  • Commentators and fans have repeatedly highlighted her putting and handling of big‑moment pressure as her main weaknesses, which has sometimes overshadowed how often she has contended at the highest level.

You’ll see plenty of YouTube titles like “what actually happened” or “the sad truth,” but these are often dramatic framings of a very normal sports story: a young phenom who faced heavy expectations, some technical struggles, and the mental grind of elite competition.

3. Emotional Moments and Public Reaction

Lexi’s relationship with fans and media has been complicated, which adds to the feeling that “something happened.”

  • She’s had emotional press conferences and tearful exits, including at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she spoke openly about how hard the journey has been and how lonely the life of a touring pro can feel.
  • Over the years, she’s sometimes avoided media after tough losses and has acknowledged feeling that coverage of her career was at times “unfair.”
  • Online forums and comment sections are split: some people are extremely supportive and empathetic, while others are very critical of her mistakes and mental game.

These emotional flashpoints fuel the ongoing discussion threads and “what happened to Lexi” posts across social and golf forums.

“Playing professional golf is only enjoyable if you have fun; otherwise it becomes a grind — especially when you’re on television.”

That sentiment from fans mirrors a lot of what Lexi herself has hinted at about the pressure she’s lived under.

4. The 2026 Update: Wedding, Life Shift, and Selective Golf

As of early 2026, Lexi Thompson is not gone—she’s just rebalancing her life.

  • She confirmed she is cutting back her LPGA schedule even further in 2026.
  • The major personal news: she is getting married to her fiancé, Max Provost, with the wedding scheduled for March 2026.
  • She’s posted bachelorette content and wedding‑related updates on Instagram, clearly signaling that personal life is her top focus right now.
  • She still plays selected LPGA events and charity or exhibition events (for example, appearances like Morgan & Friends 2026), but not a full calendar.

So if you’re wondering why you don’t see her leaderboard name every week, it’s because she’s choosing to play less, not because of a mysterious injury or scandal.

5. Is She Done Competing? Future Outlook

There’s no clear sign that she is permanently done with top‑level competition.

  • She has already shown she can come back and contend in big events even after stepping away from a full schedule.
  • Team USA leadership for events like the Solheim Cup has publicly suggested that Lexi has “earned the right” to be considered for future teams thanks to her track record and ongoing competitiveness when she does tee it up.
  • Coverage of her plans for 2026 suggests she’ll still pick selective key events—especially ones meaningful to her career, like the Chevron Championship.

In other words, her future looks like selective, intentional appearances rather than total retirement from public golf life.

6. Why This Became a Trending Topic

The phrase “what happened to Lexi Thompson” has become a trending search and discussion topic for several reasons.

  • She was once framed as the next dominant superstar, so any perceived underachievement or absence triggers curiosity and speculation.
  • Emotional exits, retirement‑style letters, and candid admissions about struggle and loneliness stick in people’s minds and echo across forums and social media.
  • Her semi‑retirement, followed by selective comebacks and now major personal life news (the wedding), create a “chapter change” narrative that people latch onto.

A typical forum thread or video discussion might mix real facts (schedule reduction, mental toll, retirement announcement) with more dramatic editorializing about “collapse,” “pressure,” or “what went wrong.”

When you strip away the drama, the story is:

A top golfer who started very young, carried heavy expectations, dealt with technical and mental struggles, openly felt the grind and loneliness, and is now intentionally choosing a more balanced life while still keeping a foot in the competitive arena.

Mini FAQ: Fast Answers

Q: Did Lexi Thompson retire?

  • She announced a form of retirement/semi‑retirement from full‑time play in 2024 but continues to compete in select events and majors.

Q: Is she injured or banned?

  • There is no widely reported long‑term injury or ban driving her reduced schedule; it’s primarily a personal choice focused on well‑being and life balance.

Q: What’s she doing now in 2026?

  • Preparing for her March 2026 wedding to Max Provost, playing a reduced LPGA schedule, and appearing in selected events and charity tournaments.

Short TL;DR

Lexi Thompson didn’t vanish; she chose to step back from the grind of full‑time LPGA life after years of pressure, criticism, and emotional strain, announcing a semi‑retirement in 2024. As of early 2026, she’s focusing on her personal life—especially her upcoming wedding—while still popping up in select tournaments and remaining a respected, if part‑time, presence in women’s golf.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.