Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles have become Wisconsin’s adopted sports power couple in 2023.
They’ve shared tender moments in the snow and at games and have supported each other through their athletic achievements. But how did this love story start?
Biles, the gymnastics legend, can tell you in a few words. She shot her shot.
‘I know what I like, and I know what I want,’ Biles said. ‘Period.’
The Green Bay Packers safety and Olympic gymnast discussed in detail how they got together, as well as the importance of taking care of your mental health during their recent appearance on The Pivot podcast, which is hosted by retired NFL players Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder Jr. and Fred Taylor.
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They’ve told the story before about how they connected during the early parts of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the way they open up in a light-heartened moment is something that peels back the curtain in a way you don’t always see with pro athletes.
Jonathan Owens didn’t know who Simone Biles was when they connected on a dating app
Owens, who went undrafted out of NCAA Division II Missouri Western, suffered a serious injury his first season in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 and then spent much of the second year on the Houston Texans practice squad.
Given all that, and looking to find his place in the NFL, the then-bachelor Owens said he wasn’t really looking for a relationship. But he relented when one of his buddies recommended he get on a dating app in early 2020.
‘I literally had the app for a couple days and she pops up,’ Owens recounts.
‘She’ would be Biles, who was the face of U.S. gymnastics, having won four gold medals at the previous Olympics, 19 world championships and already was considered the greatest gymnast ever.
‘I never really paid any attention to gymnastics,’ Owens admitted, saying he didn’t watch the 2016 Olympics when Biles was one of the brightest stars of the Summer Games. ‘It piqued my curiosity.’
But Owens still was a bit cautious.
‘I still waited and I come back to my phone and she messaged me on the app,’ Owens told the hosts.
‘This gotta be fake,’ he added. ‘I didn’t know who she was at the time. The first thing I saw is that she just had a bunch of followers.’
It was in fact Biles, who lived in the Houston area.
Simone Biles-Jonathan Owens relationship: ‘It happened when we least expected it’
Biles said she was the first to message.
‘As soon as I clicked ‘ooh I like him,” Biles said, they matched.
‘I wasn’t scared,’ Biles confidently said.
Owens said he was initially ‘fighting it’ because he was afraid to commit.
‘It happened when we least expected it,’ Owens said. ‘We laughed the whole night.’
And as Owens says, the rest is history.
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens have supported each other this year
Biles made her triumphant return to competitive gymnastics this summer where she won her record eighth U.S. gymnastics all-around championship and then became the most decorated gymnast of all time in October at the world championships.
Owens, meanwhile, made the Packers roster and then has flourished in the second half of the season, becoming a reliable presence in Green Bay’s secondary by making hard-hitting and game-changing plays.
Biles, 26, offers her public support to Owens, 28, no matter where she is, and has also attended several Packers games this season when her schedule allows. Owens always celebrates Biles’ achievements as well.
Jonathan Owens says being with Simone Biles made him realize it’s OK to talk about mental health
Owens also talked about how Biles has helped him with mental health. During the Olympics in 2021, Biles’ mental health was at the forefront of the conversation after she withdrew from several events.
‘The pressure gets to everyone, even the best, so you have to make sure you take care of your mental,’ Owens said. ‘But going through it with her made me realize how important it is. She made it OK to talk about it because I never knew people that went to therapy. She was the first one I ever seen so she opened that door to me to do it, too.”