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Louise Thomas
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Simone Biles has come to her husband Jonathan Owens’ defense after he was criticized for wearing one of her Olympic gold medals.
On July 30, Owens posted a photo on Instagram of himself and Biles after the US women’s gymnastics team won the gold at the all-around event. In it, he has the medal around his neck and is holding it up. Some fans responded in the comments that he was “holding it like he won it.” YouTube star Kiera Breaugh also wrote that he should “take [his wife’s] medal off,” noting that he wasn’t the one who “spun like a top 30 times in the air and landed without stumbling.”
However, other fans congratulated Biles and praised her football player husband for traveling to Paris to support her, as he’s in the middle of training for his upcoming season with the Chicago Bears.
Throughout the 2024 Paris Olympics so far, Biles has already won three gold medals. She’s now has a total 10 Olympic medals, with seven of them being gold.
The 27-year-old gymnast commented on a fan’s TikTok video on August 1 to address the controversy surrounding her husband, hitting back at Breaugh and others who had criticized him.
“Crazy thing is, I put my medal on every single one of my family members and took pictures,” she wrote. “So don’t ever make assumptions. Like y’all are so f***ing miserable. Leave us alone.”
Breaugh later shared a video, saying she was “honored to be told to f*** off by such a talented woman.” She acknowledged that she “can’t really be mad” at Owens if Biles told him to put on the medal. She also pointed out how the NFL star has been seen taking notes during his wife’s competitions.
“Maybe he’s really keeping score, which is more than anyone’s done for me. Maybe I am miserable,” Breaugh quipped. “I’ll be called miserable by the most decorated gymnast of all time. I don’t really care.”
Owens has previously been criticized for his remarks about their relationship. In December 2023, he claimed during an episode of The Pivot podcast that he “didn’t know” who Biles was when they first met on membership-based dating app, Raya, in 2020. When he was asked if he believes he’s the “catch” in their relationship, Owens replied: “I always say that the men are the catch.” His remark about being a catch sparked the most criticism among fans, who pointed out that Owens’ wife was a successful Olympian.
Biles told Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast in April that she found amusement in the viral reaction to her husband’s comments but also confessed how hurt she was over it.
“I thought it was hilarious at first, and then they hurt my feelings,” she explained. “And then 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.’”
Biles added: “Because for me, it’s like: ‘Talk about me all you want, but don’t come for my family, never.’ Because I’ve been in the limelight long enough where I can brush things off, have my little powwow about it.’”
In May, she once again addressed the backlash directed towards her husband, after fans went to the comments of her Instagram photos with him and reminded her that she was the “prize” in the relationship.
“I’m going to quickly address this, the joke was never a joke! Y’all are blatantly being disrespectful to my relationship and my husband. So I’m gonna go ahead and say this one time. Respectfully, f*** off,” Biles replied to the backlash on her Instagram Story. “[And] if you keep commenting or tweeting at me I’m just going to block you. Simple as that. And no I don’t need to touch grass or whatever tf y’all suggest…”
