Simone Biles "Broke Down" After the Backlash Over Husband Jonathan Owens Claiming He Was "The Catch" in Their Relationship

She thought it was funny at first, but it eventually got to her.

Simone Biles, Jonathan Owens
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Simone Biles wasn't prepared for the backlash her husband Jonathan Owens faced following a viral interview back in December.

In the interview, Owens—who currently plays for the Chicago Bears—said that he was "the catch" in their relationship, and claimed he had no idea who Biles was when the two first matched on elite dating app Raya.

This led fans to come to Biles' defense and criticize Owens for his comments, with the NFL pro posting a wedding photo on Instagram and captioning it, "Unbothered ... Just know we locked in over here"

Biles posted a meme on Twitter at the time, writing, "are y’all done yet?"

The Olympic gymnast just appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, and the host asked her about the incident, and how she felt after she heard what her husband had said.

"I was in the room, I was sitting on the chair," she explained. "You just couldn't see me on the videos. I was there for the whole entire video."

She continued, "I was feeling great. I was like, my man just killed that.

"They even panned over to me with that viral moment and I just like roll my eyes and laugh."

Biles went on to explain that she didn't think there was anything wrong with that interview. "And then I go on Twitter and everybody's like, 'Divorce this man, he's mean,'" she recalled. "And I'm like, he's the sweetest. He praises the ground that I walk on. Like truly, I've never met a man like him."

A post shared by Simone Biles

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The athlete also felt her husband's words had been misinterpreted on social media.

"And he never said I wasn't a catch," she said. "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, like I want a man like that, like Jonathan.'"

Biles also explained that this was an interview with Owens not her, and that she's happy for him to take the spotlight and to support him when he does.

Unfortunately, the backlash ended up getting to the gymnast, even though she originally found the situation funny.

"I thought it was hilarious what people were saying," she said. "'Divorce him. Divorce him.' All this crazy stuff."

She continued, "So I thought it was hilarious at first and then they hurt my feelings. And then like one night I broke down and I'm like, 'Why are you guys talking about my husband like this?' Like 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.

"And so that really hurt that they were talking about my husband like that.
Because for me, it's like, talk about me all you want, but don't come for my family. Never."

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.