Simone Biles’ name is trending right now because her husband was probably less gracious than he should be. Simone Biles is the gymnastics GOAT, and one of the greatest athletes of all time. Her achievements and her legendary career are often minimized because she’s a young Black woman and because (jmo) she makes it look so effortless. I never would have thought that Simone’s husband would be one of the people minimizing her, although I do not believe that Jonathan Owens’ comments were AS bad as some people think. Jonathan and Simone did a joint interview with the Pivot podcast (which was also filmed) and they talked about how they got together and who made the first move. Owens currently plays for the Green Bay Packers, while Simone is likely preparing to compete at the Paris Olympics – he’s 28, she’s 26.
According to Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens, when he first started his romance with now-wife Simone Biles, he’d never actually heard of the four-time Olympic Gold Medalist and record-smashing gymnast who is considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time. Owens, 28, and Biles, 26, recently sat down for an interview on The Pivot podcast, and the newlyweds — who got hitched back in April — reflected on how they first met, which is when Owens made his surprising revelation.
“I’m like, ‘Lemme see who this is.’ I never really paid attention to gymnastics,” Owens said, recalling when Biles popped up on Raya back in 2020. “So it piqued my curiosity.”
While it may seem unlikely or even impossible for Owens to have never even heard of Biles, he tried his best to explain how the Olympic hero managed to fly under his radar.
“When she won the Olympics, I was in college, and we didn’t have NBC, we didn’t have Olympics channels, and we were in [training] camp in late July, early August,” he said. “So I’m not paying attention. I never had a moment where I would have watched [her perform].”
Owens added that when she first messaged him, “I didn’t know who she was at the time. But like, the first thing that I saw was that she just had a bunch of followers. So in my mind I’m like, ‘OK, she’s got to be good.'”
That being said, once they connected on Raya, things took off fairly quickly.
“She messaged me Tuesday, and then we were texting back and forth, and then we hung out Friday,” Owens recalled. “We couldn’t do much, because COVID happened and everything was shut down. So she came down to Houston. She lived in the suburbs, so she had to come about 45 minutes to me. Then the rest is history.”
When asked (seemingly as a joke) by host Ryan Clark if that meant Owens considered himself “the catch” in their relationship, Owens quickly — and seemingly genuinely — agreed that he did.
“I always say that the men are the catch,” said Owens — while sitting next to his wife, the single most highly decorated gymnast in the history of the world, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
I actually believe him that he didn’t immediately recognize Simone or understand what a big deal she is. It was sort of the same with Alexis Ohanian and (GOAT) Serena Williams – he simply didn’t follow tennis, and he didn’t recognize Serena right away when they first met. It feels like that would be especially true of a young football player who probably never paid attention to women’s sports. Now, the thing about “I always say that the men are the catch” – I can’t defend that. Simone is the catch. Simone is the bigger deal. That being said, it’s pretty clear that Simone chose him and she pursued him!
#SimoneBiles husband says he didn’t know who she was when they met & says he’s the catch. pic.twitter.com/gnbUFerFot
— The Gworls Are Fighting (@baddietvv) December 21, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Simone’s Instagram.
Turnen Weltmeisterschaft 2023 Turnen: Weltmeisterschaft 2023, Damen, Finale, Boden, Sportpaleis. Simone Biles aus den USA steht bei der Siegerehrung mit Medaille und jubelt. Antwerpen Sportpaleis Belgien *** Gymnastics World Championships 2023 Gymnastics World Championships 2023, women, final, floor, Sportpaleis Simone Biles of the USA stands with medal and cheers Antwerp Sportpaleis Belgium during award ceremony,Image: 812060365, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon 
Turnen Weltmeisterschaft 2023 Turnen: Weltmeisterschaft 2023, Damen, Finale, Schwebebalken, Sportpaleis. Simone Biles aus den USA steht bei der Siegerehrung mit Medaille. Antwerpen Sportpaleis Belgien *** Gymnastics World Championships 2023 Gymnastics World Championships 2023, women, final, balance beam, Sportpaleis Simone Biles from USA stands with medal Antwerp Sportpaleis Belgium during award ceremony,Image: 812084182, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon 
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