Simone Biles & Jonathan Owens: Get to Know Olympian’s Husband & Their Love Story

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Olympian Simone Biles has a number one cheerleader in husband Jonathan Owens. He has supported her every step of the way as she heads to her third Olympic Games. She’s already the most decorated gymnast in history—with 37 world and Olympic medals—and she’s looking to increase that number in Paris.

Since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles has fallen in love and gotten married. So, who is the special man in her life? As the 2024 Paris Olympics get underway, TV Insider is breaking down everything you need to know about Simone’s husband and their relationship.

How did Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens meet?

Biles and Owens had a modern meet-cute. They met on the dating app Raya in 2020, and the Olympic gymnast made the first move.

“He would say I slid into his DMs,” Biles told WSJ. Magazine in 2021. “I saw him, and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s pretty cute,’ so I said hi … and then I saw that he was in the Houston area, so we started chatting a little bit, and then we went to hang out a week or two later.”

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They began dating during the COVID-19 pandemic and got engaged in February 2022. Biles and Owens married the next year in a courthouse wedding on April 22, 2023, before having a larger wedding ceremony on May 6 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

What does Simone’s husband do for a living?

Owens is an athlete himself. He is currently playing for the Chicago Bears. The NFL safety has also played for the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, and Green Bay Packers. The St. Louis native played college football at Missouri Western.

Is Jonathan Owens going to be at the Olympics?

Yes! Owens is going to be able to watch his wife compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Chicago Bears are giving Owens July 29 to August 3 off to attend the Olympics. Biles will be competing in the team final on July 30 and the all-around finale on August 1.

Owens will miss a Hall of Fame game on August 1 against the Houston Texans. He will also be absent from four training camp practices.

“We respect the Olympics. That’s a big deal,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said, according to USA Today. “He’s supporting the one he loves the most. I think that’s so cool that he gets to do that, we welcome that and it’s going to be awesome.”

Owens supported Biles at the 2024 U.S. Olympics Gymnastics Trials in June 2024. He was in the stands cheering her on as she qualified for her third Olympic Games.

“It’s just fun for me to be able to witness [her] greatness,” he previously told USA Today. “I just love getting to watch her in her environment. Seeing her locked in, it’s just amazing to see. She goes up there and does it, every freaking time. Surpasses what she’s supposed to do. I love that.”

What is the controversy surrounding Jonathan Owens?

During his appearance on The Pivot podcast in December 2023, Owens revealed that he didn’t know who Biles was when they matched on Raya.

“She pops up and I’m like, ‘Let me see who this is’ … I had never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity,” he said. Owens later called himself the “catch” in the relationship. “I always say the men are the catch,” Owens said, which sparked controversy online since Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time.

Biles defended her husband and revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she was in the room when he said those comments. “So, whenever he did that interview, I thought everything was OK. And then I go on Twitter, and everybody’s like, ‘Divorce this man, he’s mean,'” she 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.”

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The Olympian added, “He never said I wasn’t a catch. He said he was a catch because he is. I’ve never met a man like him. A lot of people that meet him are like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want a man like that.'”

Biles thought the backlash was “hilarious at first” but then the criticism began to “hurt” her feelings. “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, they know he’s the sweetest guy and will do anything for anybody,” she said.