Weird Things Everyone Just Ignores About Simone Biles' Marriage
She's one of the greatest athletes to ever live. He's an impressive safety in the NFL. So why are fans so upset that these two lovebirds share a nest?
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00:00She's one of the greatest athletes to ever live. He's an impressive safety in the NFL.
00:05So why are fans so upset that these two lovebirds share a nest?
00:10Simone Biles revealed on The Today Show in 2023 that she didn't experience the
00:14joys of newly married life after her Hawaii wedding to Jonathan Owens because he had to
00:19leave just two days after the ceremony to fulfill his duties as a Green Bay Packers player. Still,
00:24the Olympian clarified that she was grateful they both had such thriving careers.
00:28He's doing great out in Green Bay. He has his first game against Chicago this week, so."
00:32You're such a good cheerleader for him."
00:34Biles also claimed that long distance had given the couple a newfound appreciation
00:38for what little time they did have together. Similarly, the celebrated gymnast took to
00:43Instagram in August 2023 to share a photo of her reuniting with her husband on the field
00:48at an NFL game, and captioned it,
00:50"'Long distance' isn't easy, but seeing you play your heart out is so worth it.
00:54I'm so proud of you, baby."
00:56Despite all the little silver linings, the multiple gold medal winner naturally missed
01:00Owens' tons, too. In October 2023, Biles posted an Instagram story to express her
01:06longing for her missing hubby. The couple had only been reunited a month prior,
01:10when Biles shared a photo on Instagram of her left hand sweetly laying next to Owens.
01:14The couple faced a similarly long separation when Biles went to Paris for the 2024 Olympics,
01:20and Owens stayed back to train. Fortunately, this time around, he was allowed to miss a
01:24few preseason practices to cheer his wife on.
01:28When Simone Biles appeared on E! News' Daily Pop in 2021,
01:32she acknowledged that two athletes don't always spend their time in married bliss.
01:36She explained that she and Owens could never agree on which one of their areas of expertise
01:41was harder — gymnastics or football. No love was lost between the couple,
01:45as they always put their differences aside to be each other's biggest cheerleaders.
01:49However, when Biles spoke to Sports Illustrated about a month later, she divulged that the
01:54recurring argument greatly frustrated her because gymnastics was evidently harder to master, saying,
01:59"'I could go out there and learn how to throw a football, and he's like,
02:02every time they get hit, it's like a car crash. I'm like, you're literally a safety,
02:06you don't get hit. If you get hit, you're not doing your job.'"
02:10Still, the NFL player seemingly stood his ground. During a December 2023 appearance
02:15on Peacock's Back That Year Up, Biles confirmed that she and her husband had mutually agreed
02:20to never argue about their crafts after tying the knot, but they kept coming back to it. However,
02:25she was happy to note that she could easily keep up with him through his NFL workouts,
02:29while Owens struggled to get through her demanding exercise routine.
02:34On Jonathan Owens' Pivot podcast appearance, he suggested that he didn't know that Simone Biles
02:39was a world-renowned gymnast before meeting her on Raya. The football player explained that he
02:44didn't have a particular inclination for gymnastics, so he wasn't aware of some of
02:48the sport's most impressive athletes, like his future wife.
02:51"'Let me see what this is. Gymnastics, I ain't never, you know,
02:53I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity.'"
02:58Fair enough, but Owens arguably dug himself into a deeper hole when he confidently informed the
03:03host that he was the true catch in their relationship, and reckoned that men are
03:07the catch, generally speaking, too. Social media users were baffled by Owens' tall claims.
03:13Angry fans flooded his Instagram comments demanding an apology for talking about his
03:18highly accomplished wife in what they viewed as an undermining manner. One user on Instagram
03:23even sneered, "'I didn't know of you until Simone Biles posted you, sir.'"
03:27However, Owens wasn't phased by the backlash, saying to Us Weekly in 2024 that he never put
03:33much stock in social media comments anyway. Jonathan Owens didn't leave it there either,
03:38also confessing on the Pivot podcast that he wasn't ready for a serious relationship
03:42when he met Simone Biles. The NFL player was initially unsure if he should lock things down
03:47with her because Owens was still in the early years of his career at the time. As a result,
03:52the Olympic gold medalist apparently had to work extra hard to get him on board with the idea of
03:57commitment. Furthermore, Owens stated that if it weren't for an Instagram message,
04:01their connection would have ended at the Raya match, since he wasn't compelled to make a move.
04:06While the hosts joked that the gymnast should thank her lucky stars that all her efforts paid
04:10off and she landed a man like Owens, Biles chimed in to point out that she could've had him
04:15regardless. Simone Biles came to Jonathan Owens' defense after his comments on the Pivot podcast
04:21drew intense ire from fans. During an April 2024 appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast,
04:27Biles said that she initially didn't let the negative comments get to her and simply wrote
04:31them off as jokes. Eventually, though, people took things a bit too far, and the gymnast was
04:36gravely affected by just how negatively strangers were speaking about the man she loved.
04:41Biles reiterated that she wasn't offended by his catch comment, pointing out,
04:45"...I didn't think anything of that interview. And he never said I wasn't a catch. He said he
04:49was a catch. Because he is." The Olympian couldn't gush about him enough, proclaiming that Owens was
04:54extremely appreciative of her. In fact, even on the Pivot podcast, she stood by her man.
05:00As the hosts noted that she was the stronger athlete, Biles reasoned,
05:03"...in a couple years, nobody is gonna call him Simone Biles' husband. They'll call me
05:08Jonathan Owens' wife."
05:09Unfortunately, Biles' own opinion about her relationship wasn't enough to convince
05:14some overzealous fans. However, she has never been one to let criticism get to her,
05:19posting an Instagram story in May 2024 warning people
05:22that persistent critics of their marriage would be blocked.