Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles can often be seen in the stands at his football games or her gymnastics events, supporting each other.
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens have been dating since March 2020, right before the pandemic.
Like Biles, Owens is a professional athlete, playing safety for the Chicago Bears in the NFL.
They got married in April 2023 in a small ceremony, before saying their vows again in Cabo in May.
Simon Biles' NFL player husband, Jonathan Owens, is one of thousands of fans cheering her return to represent Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Biles met her husband online in 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt.
At the time, Owens, who is just shy of 6 feet tall, was signed to the Houston Texans, while Biles, who is 4-foot-8, was at the pinnacle of her gymnastics career.
The couple, who got married last year, has remained united through the highs and lows, including Biles' brief withdrawal from competitive gymnastics and Owens' being traded to several different NFL teams.
Owens, 28, currently plays a defensive position called a safety for the Chicago Bears and wears the No. 36 jersey. Biles, 27, is a gold medalist competing in her third Olympic Games.
Over the years, Biles and Owens have been outwardly supportive of each other, with Biles regularly posting Owens on her social media and Owens doing the same on his accounts.
Owens, however, irritated Biles' fiercely protective fan base in 2023 for calling himself a "catch" while discussing their relationship on a podcast.
The controversy propelled Owens — whose two-year contract with the Bears totals $4.75 million — into the social-media spotlight, with fervent commenters weighing in that he should see Biles, whose net worth includes millions in lucrative sponsorships, as the prize.
Here's a closer look at Owens and his four-year-long relationship with Biles.
Owens was born in St. Louis and played college football before entering the NFL.
Owens was previously signed to the Arizona Cardinals, the Houston Texans, and the Green Bay Packers.
Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Owens grew up in St. Louis, where he began playing football at the age of 12.
He went on to play football at Missouri Western University, after which the Arizona Cardinals briefly signed him in 2018. After sustaining a preseason injury, he was ultimately cut from the team.
In 2019, he signed with the Houston Texans. Four years later, he signed a deal to play for the Green Bay Packers.
In March, after a season-long stint with the Packers, Owens signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Bears.
Owens referred to his move to the Bears as "new beginnings."
Owens and Biles connected via social media and started hanging out in March 2020.
Owens and Biles, who are married, met in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic ground the world to a halt.
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Owens and Biles have both said they met right before COVID-19 shut down their sports — although their accounts differ slightly.
Biles previously said her husband initiated their first encounter over Instagram, whereas Owens later claimed they met on Raya, a dating app.
Whichever way they first crossed paths, things quickly got serious.
Biles recalled her younger sister, Adria, catching her FaceTiming Owens just a few weeks after they first exchanged messages.
She said Adria stole her phone and asked Owens if he would join them on a family trip to their lake house. The NFL player accepted and brought along his beloved bulldog, Zeus.
Months later, the couple became Instagram official.
Biles and Owens have given multiple interviews discussing how they first met online.
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Biles posted a photo of the pair for the first time on August 2, 2020. She captioned it, "It's just us," with a brown heart emoji.
A few weeks later, she joked about her gymnastics prowess with a photo of the two captioned, "The only time I fall is when he's there to catch me."
About a month later, on September 8, Owens posted about Biles on his Instagram profile — a mirror selfie of them both captioned, "Now you rockin with a real one."
Biles spent that Christmas with Owens' family and watched him play football.
Biles watched Owens, pictured holding a football in his Texans uniform, play for the first time in 2020.
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Owens shared a series of photos showing Biles and his family wearing matching pajamas.
In the caption, he sent well wishes to his followers for the holidays, and added that it is "always good to spend Christmas with the fam."
Biles marked the holiday with her own photo with Owens with a festive caption.
Shortly after, Biles posted about watching Owens play with the Texans.
In June 2021, Owens saw Biles compete for the first time in person at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
Owens came to see Biles, pictured warming up on the beam, at the 2021 US Gymnastic Championships.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Owens was in the audience to witness Biles win her seventh national all-around title.
After Biles experienced the "twisties," leading her to withdraw from Olympic events in Tokyo, Owens shared his love on Instagram.
Biles struggled publicly with her mental health during the Tokyo Olympics.
LOIC VENANCE/Getty Images
In July 2021, Biles withdrew from several events at the Tokyo Olympics after experiencing the "twisties," a mental block that causes gymnasts to feel disoriented and lost in the air while performing high-level stunts.
"Imma ride with you through whatever baby," Owens wrote alongside a carousel of photos of the two of them.
Biles commented, "I love you so much," with heart and crossed fingers emojis.
Later that year, Biles supported Owens at his first NFL start.
Biles didn't let her own athletic challenges stop her from supporting Owens.
Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Biles was there to cheer on Owens during his first NFL start on December 12, 2021.
Weeks later, during a December 26 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Owens made a key interception against quarterback Justin Herbert and then added a fumble recovery.
Biles was watching from the stands.
"I'm so proud of you, watching you get your first NFL interception & fumble recovery was a dream!" she wrote on Instagram afterward, adding that his "hard work" was paying off and that it was "just the beginning" of his success.
The couple revealed they were engaged in February 2022.
Owens and Biles dated for less than two years before getting engaged.
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
On Instagram on February 15, right after Valentine's Day, Biles shared a series of photos showing the proposal and her oval-cut diamond ring.
She said in the caption that it was the "easiest yes" she'd ever said.
"I can't wait to spend forever & ever with you," she wrote. "You're everything I dreamed of and more! let's get married FIANCÉ."
Owens, who also shared the photos on his Instagram account, commented on Biles' post, saying, "Ready for forever with you."
Ahead of the wedding in 2023, Biles flew to Belize for her bachelorette party, while Owens celebrated separately with a trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
In 2023, they got married in a civil ceremony in Houston before flying to Mexico to tie the knot again in front of 144 guests.
The couple, pictured sharing a kiss in 2023, tied the knot in Houston and Cabo.
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Biles and Owens got legally married at a courthouse in Texas on April 22, 2023.
Owens shared photos from their civil service on Instagram, captioning his post, "My person, forever."
Biles also shared the images, captioning her post, "I never knew a love so deep."
The following month, on May 6, the couple jet-setted to Cabo for a more elaborate wedding ceremony with 144 of their closest friends and family.
The nuptials took place at the Nobu Los Cabos Resort, and Biles walked down the aisle in a Galia Lahav gown.
In December 2023, Biles and Owens appeared on "The Pivot" podcast where he made comments about their relationship that sparked backlash.
Owens' comments about his relationship with Biles angered some of her biggest fans.
Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
On the December 19, 2023, episode of "The Pivot" podcast, which is hosted by NFL stars, Owens recounted the beginning of his relationship with Biles.
In the interview, he mentioned again that he didn't know who Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, was when they matched on Raya.
"I'm like, 'Lemme see who this is.' I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity," Owens said, while Biles laughed and rolled her eyes.
"I always say that the men are the catch," Owens continued.
Owens' comments didn't go over well with Biles' fans, many of whom felt that he wasn't recognizing his wife as a legendary gymnast.
The couple kept a united front.
Biles appeared to subtly respond to the criticism with an Instagram photo of the two from their Cabo wedding captioned "mood," while Owens posted "Unbothered. Just know we locked in over here."
Biles defended her husband on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast in April when she said fans had told her to break up with him.
Biles told "Call Her Daddy" host Alex Cooper that Owens was the "sweetest" person.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Biles addressed the backlash Owens experienced in the April 17 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, hosted by Alex Cooper.
She shared that she was in the room when "The Pivot" episode was taped and didn't think Owens said anything that warranted the level of criticism he got.
"I was there for the whole entire video," Biles said, adding that she thought her husband "killed" the interview when it wrapped.
"And then I go on Twitter," she said, "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."
She also said that Owens never said she "wasn't a catch" but that he just acknowledged that he was one "because he is."
"A lot of people that meet him are like, 'Oh my gosh, I want a man like that,'" she said.
Although Biles said she initially found fans' reactions to her husband's comments funny, they eventually really "upset" her.
"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,'" she said. "If anybody's met him, they know he's the sweetest guy and will do anything for anybody."
Biles left the US in July for the 2024 Paris Olympics and confirmed Owens will travel to watch her compete.
Owens is flying to Paris to support Biles as she competes in the 2024 Olympics.
Nikolas Liepins/Anadolu via Getty Images, Michael Owens/Getty Images
In July, Biles shared an Instagram story of her and Owens embracing as she prepared to fly to Paris for the start of the 2024 Olympic Games.
The women's gymnastics events are scheduled to start on July 28, with the competition concluding on August 5.
Biles captioned her post, "See you in Paris baby," indicating that Owens will be taking some time off from the Bears training camp to fly to Paris to support his wife.
