Simone Biles has been an incredibly famous and successful athlete since she won her first gold medal at the 2016 Olympics. Since then, the gymnast has gone on to become the GOAT of her sport, and recently won her sixth, that’s right sixth, all-around world title. Her name is uttered in the same sentences as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, and it feels like everyone is aware of her. Well, apparently, her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens wasn’t, and now the internet is dragging him over it.
While chatting with The Pivot Podcast, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens opened up about how they met on a dating app during COVID, and the Green Bay Packers safety admitted that he apparently had no idea who the Olympian was before they met. He said:
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.’
He went on to defend himself, saying he was in college when she was competing at one of the many Olympics she attended, and he didn’t have NBC and was busy with training camp. However, it’s hard to fathom that he truly didn’t know who his future wife was, and her impact on sports. The internet thought this too, and as this clip went viral, they dragged Owens for his comments.
In the spirit of the opinion that “Taylor Swift put Travis Kelce on the map,” which went viral at the beginning of Swift and Kelce’s relationship, @karcambow posted:
We only know of him as Simone Biles husband sooooo https://t.co/nhjRetMyCX pic.twitter.com/LCTjOuHOduDecember 22, 2023
See I don’t use Swift and Biles' names together lightly, they are both legends in their fields, and during the 2021 “Hero” promo for the Olympics, they shared love for each other. They are GOATs, and they have been for a long time. While we all knew Travis Kelce was a Swiftie before he started dating his girlfriend, it’s wild to think that Owens didn’t know about his future wife’s career before meeting her on a dating app.
Using a fantastic GIF of Viola Davis, Sydney Leroux posted what I think many were thinking about this situation:
Everyone knows who Simone Biles is. pic.twitter.com/vrh5qL7BQeDecember 22, 2023
Others noted that many people know Jonathan Owens because he is Simone Biles’ husband. For example, @CantResistCody posted:
The fact that not one person has called him anything other than “Simone Biles’s husband” is sending me to orbit pic.twitter.com/ylFpNYLcDTDecember 22, 2023
What’s baffling about this statement is Simone Biles lives in the same realm of athletic excellence as Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Shaun White. So, it’s hard to comprehend that anyone wouldn’t, at the bare minimum, recognize her name. One X user, @bo0kthot, had this thought as they posted:
Didn’t know who Simone Biles was… she sits at the same table as Michael Phelps when it comes to being the goat of their sport… one of the greatest olympians and the “pro” athlete didn’t know who she was? You just started being interested her in her because of her follow count?? pic.twitter.com/xmq6OwrbiYDecember 22, 2023
To further this point, folks were posting that even though they don’t watch gymnastics, they know who Simone Biles is. For example, @hey_ms_walker wrote:
I never sat down and watched gymnastics a day in my life, but I sure as hell know who Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas are. https://t.co/ksxSDzjNEe pic.twitter.com/1I3w6oJNVADecember 22, 2023
We’ll end on the note that many touched on. The fact of the matter is, Simone Biles is a lot more famous than her husband. If athletic achievements aren’t enough to prove that, just look at their Instagram follower counts, the Olympian has over 7 million and the NFL player has 397 thousand. Therefore, it makes sense that folks were posting things like what @PurpleLights22 uploaded:
I only know him as Simone Biles’ husband. Don’t ask me nothin’ else. pic.twitter.com/GkANixdj1MDecember 22, 2023
Like Biles' blunt response to Dancing with the Stars judges in 2017, many of her fans took to social media to make their confounded feelings known about Owens’ admission.
Well, it’s safe to say that going into the Paris Olympics on the 2024 TV schedule, Jonathan Owens will be fully aware of how incredible his wife is. After winning a world title, she’s getting ready to qualify for the next summer games – which you’ll be able to watch with a Peacock subscription next summer. So, hopefully, come July, we’ll see him in the stands rooting for his wife, Simone Biles, the legendary gymnast, as she competes for another gold medal.
