If you were outraged on Simone Biles‘ behalf last year, only to see her still supporting her husband after his comments… Well, prepare to get a booster shot of frustration!
For those who didn’t follow the controversy, Jonathan Owens, who is also an athlete — a safety in the NFL, was on a podcast called The Pivot back in December 2023. And he used his time to… well, to downplay his wife and her accomplishments.
First, he made the outrageous claim he’d never heard of her before they started dating. Maybe the most famous gymnast alive right now? From Team USA?? Yeah, not buying that one. That sounds to us like some junk you’d read in a pickup artist book about how to neg a famous woman. Then when the other hosts, respecting what a baddie he was married to, asked how he landed such a woman, he corrected them — saying he felt HE was “the catch” in the relationship:
“I always say that the men are the catch.”
Yeah. Wow. What a jerk, right?
Simone publicly supported her hubby. But she had to be upset for real, right? Well, if you’ve been dying to know what the Olympian thought of all this controversy behind closed doors, wait no longer. The 4-time gold medalist made her own podcast appearance this week, opening up to Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper.
Video: Did Travis Kelce Just Shade Simone Biles’ Husband?!
So where does Simone stand? Oh, still in Jonathan’s corner. She was present at the interview, and well… let’s just say red flags mean something different in gymnastics because she saw nothing wrong with what he said! Defending his words, she explained he “never said [she] wasn’t a catch”:
“He said he was a catch. Because he is! I’ve never met a man like him.”
No, he said he was the catch. There is a difference. He was saying that of the two of them, he was the one everyone wanted. We’re guessing she’d heard that stuff he said about not knowing who she was before, too. Like on their second date, he probably was like, “Oh do you also do sports? What kind?” It reads like she’s bending over backwards to avoid being offended, which is — to be fair — not actually hard for her.
Simone was so oblivious to the demeaning wording, the online reactions hit her like a case of the twisties:
“I thought everything was OK, and then I go on Twitter and everybody’s like, ‘Divorce this man. He’s mean!’ 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.”
Simone wasn’t hurt by what her husband said. But she was upset about everyone’s reaction to it! She explained:
“I thought it was hilarious at first and then it hurt my 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, you know he’s the sweetest guy, will do anything for anybody.’”
She’s acting like people are misjudging him — but they’re judging what he said! And, you know, the obvious WTF comment about not knowing who she was. But all Simone sees is a great guy, a real “catch” if you will — and anyone saying different is just being cruel:
“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.”
We genuinely hope the entire world has misunderstood what her man was saying. Because otherwise it means he’s truly sold her on the idea he’s the MVP in the relationship and she’s just lucky to be along for the ride. And if that’s true, it’s really sad.
What do YOU think, Perezcious relationship experts??
[Image via The Pivot/Call Her Daddy/YouTube.]
