Simone Biles may be the most decorated gymnast of all time, but her husband Jonathan Owens claims he wasn't dating when they first matched on the Raya dating app in 2020 Know who she is. The NFL player opened up about the early days of their relationship on The Pivot Podcast, and his divisive comments quickly made him and Byers a viral hit.
What did he say
Owens claims he "never really paid attention to gymnastics" and "didn't have an Olympic channel" while he was busy with training camps in college. After they matched on Raya, he noticed that Biles, who also participated in the interview, "had a following" on Instagram. "So in my mind, 'Well, she must be doing well,'" the Green Bay Packers safety explained.
According to Owens, who was playing for the Houston Texans at the time, Byers was the first person to message him and pursue him. "She came to Houston. She lived in the suburbs, so she had to drive about 45 minutes to get to me," he shared. "Then the rest is history."
In fact, Biles and Owens tied the knot at a Houston courthouse in April and held a second celebration in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, shortly after.
However, Owens angered even more people when he called himself a "trap" in the relationship. "I always say men are prey," he said, adding that he was "scared of commitment" at the time.
Fans are divided
Backlash was swift on X (formerly Twitter). “Man, I’ve never watched tennis, basketball, swimming or F1 in my life, but I still know who Roger Federer, LeBron James, Michael Phelps and Lewis Hamilton are… We Can we be friends?" one user wrote.
Others suggested Owens asked Serena Williams' husband Alex Ohanian "how to be a good husband to GOAT athletes," or that he should start with "Travis Kelce Talks Taylor Swift" Swift's way."
Still, many came to the couple's defense. “Do you guys think you can experience someone’s entire relationship in a 30-second video?” one fan asked, while another noted that they “obviously have a lot of fun together . . . but please leave that to the full Strange people, making them irrational investments and insecurities.”
Simone and Jonathan "carefree"
Amid the chat, Owens seemed to respond, posting an Instagram carousel of photos of him and Biles on Dec. 21. "Carefree," he captioned the post, adding crying with laughter and red heart emojis. "Just know that we're locked in here."
Biles, for her part, shared Owens' post on her own Instagram Stories, adding a photo of another goofy couple to her grid and captioning it, "Mood." She also commented on her husband's post with crossed fingers and kiss mark emojis, writing "For a lifetime."
After all, she has good reason to cut through the noise: Biles was just named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the third time.
