Simone Biles admitted that the backlash her husband, Jonathan Owens, faced following his viral interview on the “Pivot” podcast took a serious toll on her mental health.
In December 2023, the NFL player caused controversy online after claiming he didn’t know who Biles — the most decorated gymnast of all time — was before they started dating.
Then, when asked how he managed to snag the Olympic athlete, Owens said he was more of a “catch” than the seven-time Olympic champion.
“I always say that the men are the catch,” the 28-year-old said.
Social media users were quick to slam the former Green Bay Packers player for seemingly implying that he was a bigger catch than Biles, who was present during the interview.
However, Biles explained on Wednesday’s episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that Owens “never said [she] wasn’t a catch.”
“He said he was a catch,” the 27-year-old exclaimed. “Because he is! I’ve never met a man like him.”
Biles said she left the interview thinking everything had gone great, only to look online and see that everyone was bashing her husband.
“I thought everything was OK, and then I go on Twitter and everybody’s like, ‘Divorce this man. He’s mean!’” Biles recalled. “I’m like, ‘He’s the sweetest. He praises the ground that I walk on.’ Truly, I’ve never met a man like him … he truly goes out of his way to do anything for me.”
Although Biles initially found the situation funny, it eventually started to take a toll on her.
“I thought it was hilarious at first and then it hurt my feelings,” she admitted. “One night I broke down and I’m like, ‘Why are you guys talking about my husband like this? You don’t know him. You don’t know who he is and if anybody’s met him, you know he’s the sweetest guy, will do anything for anybody.’”
She continued, “That really hurt that they were talking about my husband like that. For me, it’s like, talk about me all you want, but don’t come for my family, never.”
Although Biles was hurting deep down, she put on a brave face throughout the drama, subtly clapping back at the online haters.
“ for life,” she commented beneath Owens’ Instagram post captioned, “Unbothered ❤️ Just know we locked in over here .”
Despite the internet telling Biles to divorce the football player, the pair are still going strong.
In fact, Owens is trying to get out of his summer training camp so that he can support her at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I mean, in Paris I think they will do a beautiful job and he doesn’t travel overseas too too much,” she said, noting that the first time he left the country was recently for business.
“He had to get a passport — he never had a passport before,” she continued.
Biles also hopes the experience will serve as an ego check for Owens, who often argues that football is harder than gymnastics.
“I’m excited for him to see the Olympics because football’s not in the Olympics and he always says it’s the hardest sport, it’s universal. So, why is it not in the Olympics?” she joked.
