Ryan Paul Freel was born March 8, 1976 in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Englewood High School in Jacksonville and Tallahassee Community College. He lives in Jacksonville. He is married to Christie and on January 1, 2004 the couple had their first child, a girl named Ava.

Freel has always been a daredevil and is well-known for the time he jumped off a third-story motel balcony into a swimming pool.

Freel was involved in a minor stir at the end of the 2004 season when he and D’Angelo Jimenez came to blows at a team gathering.

Freel created much more of a buzz on the evening of the 2005 opening day when he was arrested for DUI and other related charges. Freel originally plead not guilty to the charges but later changed his plea to guilty, probably as part of a plea agreement. When it was all said and done, all of the charges were dropped except for the DUI and Freel was required to pay a $200 fine and participate in the Reds’ Employee Assistance Program.

In January 2006, he was arrested again, this time in Tampa for Disorderly Intoxicaton. The charges were eventually dropped, and the Cincinnati fanbase continues to be supportive and forgiving.