Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens: A timeline of their relationship
On their own, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens have made names for themselves in gymnastics and football respectively — but together, they make up a power couple in the sports world.
Biles, the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history, and Owens, an NFL player who’s now a safety for the Chicago Bears, met on a dating app in 2020. They got engaged less than two years later before marrying in April 2023.
Throughout those years, they’ve been each other’s cheerleaders: Owens has been in the stands as Biles competes on some of the biggest stages in gymnastics, including at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Biles on sidelines at NFL games, as recently as the Bears’ game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 29.
Read on to learn more about Biles and Owens’ relationship.
March 2020: Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens meet
In March 2020, just as the world was going into COVID-19 lockdown and Biles was gearing up for the Tokyo Summer Olympics that would eventually be postponed to 2021, Biles and Owens exchanged messages on a dating app.
“He would say I slid into his DMs,” she told WSJ. Magazine. “I saw him and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s pretty cute,’ so I said hi…and then I saw that he was in the Houston area, so we started chatting a little bit, and then we went to hang out a week or two later.”
Owens told Texas Monthly in 2021 that he didn’t know who Biles was when he first saw her on the dating app. He told the story again in 2023 on the “Pivot” podcast, saying: “She pops up and I’m like, ‘Let me see who this is’ … I had never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity.” (Fans on social media later criticized him.)
August 2020: Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens went Instagram official
Biles and Owens posted their first Instagram selfie on Aug. 2, 2020, marking a “hard launch” of their relationship. “It’s just us,” Biles captioned the pic.
June 2021: For the first time, Jonathan Owens watches Simone Biles compete
Owens was the best cheerleader watching Biles compete at the U.S. Gymnastics Championship, where she earned her seventh title, in June 2021.
“What an amazing experience,” Owens wrote on Instagram at the time. “First time getting to watch you compete in person and you didn’t disappoint. It’s so cool that I get to watch you do what you love, and be the best at that!! I’m so proud of you my lil champ. Trials up next and you already know I’m there!! Love you baby.”
February 2022: Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens get engaged
A day after Valentine’s Day in 2022, Owens popped the question to Biles in a moment captured in loving photos later shared to Instagram.
“THE EASIEST YES,” Biles wrote in a caption. “I can’t wait to spend forever & ever with you, you’re everything I dreamed of and more! let’s get married FIANCÉ.”
February 2022: Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens reveal when they fell for each other
Biles and Owens appeared together on TODAY just after their engagement and recalled when they fell in love.
“We clicked really, really well in the beginning because we’re athletes and we have the same busy schedules,” Biles said. “But other than that, since it was kind of a COVID relationship. We’re with each other 24/7, so I feel like now when we’re not with each other it’s almost weird. We’re always texting or calling each other. It’s kind of gross in a way.”
“We just kind of started hanging out more and more and you start to want to see a person … I started to want to see her more,” Owens added.
April 2023: Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens get married
Biles and Owens got married in an intimate courthouse ceremony in Houston a week after obtaining their marriage license. They confirmed their nuptials with sweet photos on Instagram.
Biles is seen in a lovely tulle dress with a big bouquet of white flowers, while Owens dons a sand-colored suit with spiffy white loafers.
“I do 🤍 officially owens,” the gymnast captioned her post.
May 2023: Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens have a larger wedding in Cabo
A month after formally marrying in Houston, the two exchanged vows again during a destination wedding in Mexico.
Vogue posted footage from the ceremony in Cabo San Lucas with nearly 150 guests in attendance. Biles also posted photos of her own to her Instagram story, including pictures from the morning of her wedding day, in which she donned a white satin PJ set trimmed with feathers.
They were in a long-distance relationship less than a week after their wedding in Cabo, Mexico, the gymnast said on TODAY in September 2023.
She said she and Owens were newlyweds when he signed with the Green Bay Packers and moved to Wisconsin to join the team.
“So, it’s been different,” she said. “But at least we’re both busy and focusing on our respective sports, so it’s been nice and we cherish the moments that we get together.”
December 2023: Owens receives backlash for suggesting he was ‘the catch’ in his marriage
During a December 2023 appearance on “The Pivot” podcast, Owens talked about his relationship with Biles and said he initially didn’t know who the professional gymnast was when they first started dating.
In the interview, Owens revealed they actually met on the dating app Raya.
“I had never really paid attention to gymnastics,” he explained.
Owens also implied that he was “the catch” in their relationship.
“I always say the men are the catch,” he said.
Shortly after the interview was shared online, Owens started to receive backlash from Biles’ fan base.
One person said, “You’d better be giving that woman a sincere apology because that interview you just did was absolutely disgusting.”
Another wrote, “Your wife is a world renowned athlete with millions of fans, she is a beautiful electric woman who deserves a man who is going to love her, hype her up, and never be jealous of her and her amazing career.”
A third added, “I didn’t know of you until Simone Biles posted you sir.”
December 2023: Simone Biles says she and husband Jonathan Owens fight over who’s the better athlete
In December 2023, Biles appeared on Peacock’s “2023 Back That Year Up” with Kenan Thompson and Kevin Hart and spoke about her big year in gymnastics. In August 2023, Biles competed for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics and had planned to compete in the upcoming 2024 Games in Paris.
Asked by Thompson who she believes to be the better athlete between her and Owens, she replied: “I think we’re good at our own sports. We’ve tried to pin each other against on, like, difficulty, ability and all of that stuff. So at the end of the day, gymnastics is harder, if he agrees or not.”
Thompson replied, “That’s a nice politician answer, but here’s the truth: I know your name.”
“We fought over it a couple times,” she added, “and then we bowed once we got married. We wouldn’t talk about it again, but it keeps coming up every time. But he has done my workout in the gym, and he can barely do it. And I went to their NFL workout and I crushed it.”
Biles laughed as Hart quipped, “A lot of upper cuts being thrown.”
April 17, 2024: Simone Biles addresses comments about Jonathan Owens’ viral interview
On April 17, Biles appeared on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast and addressed the viral comments her husband made in December 2023 when he seemingly implied that he was “the catch” in their relationship and said he didn’t know who Biles was when they first got together.
“So, whenever he did that interview, 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,” she said.
Biles explained that she was “in the room” with Owens when he made those remarks and didn’t think much of it at first. But after seeing the backlash online, Biles said she went from thinking the whole situation was “hilarious” to finding it very hurtful.
“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, they know he’s the sweetest guy and will do anything for anybody,” she said.
“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,” Biles added.
April 25, 2024: Simone Biles claps back at naysayers of her relationship with Jonathan Owens
In a TikTok posted April 25, Biles seemingly responded to the online scrutiny about her marriage to Owens following her appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy.”
In the TikTok, which had phrases like “Mr. Biles,” “Simone & what’s his name again,” “leave him sis,” and “still don’t know his name” on the top of the frame, Biles followed the popular trend in which creators rip off a piece of tape set to the sound of a voice which says, “This is for your mouth. Let me know if you need a bigger piece.”
Mimicking the words, the Olympic gold medalist held up the piece of tape and pasted it on the camera lens.
In her caption, she wrote, “to all my twitter finger friends & etc.,” before adding a red lips kiss emoji and the hashtags #sorrynotsorry and #mindyourbusiness.
May 19, 2024: Simone Biles defends Jonathan Owens again
At the end of a weekend at the Core Hydration Classic in Hartford, Connecticut, Biles called out critics of her marriage on her Instagram story May 19.
“I’m going to quickly address this, the joke was never a joke! Y’all are blatantly being disrespectful to my relationship & my husband,” Biles wrote. “So I’m gonna go ahead & say this one time. Respectfully, f— off. & if you keep commenting or tweeting at me I’m just going to block you. simple as that.”
She continued, “And no I don’t need to touch grass or whatever tf y’all suggest…. @ everyone else that supports us, we love y’all so much.”
Earlier in her Instagram stories, Biles shared some snaps of her flying on a private jet with Owens with the caption, “Going home.” She also included a selfie of her smiling in her pink sparkling gymnastics leotard from the meet, with Owens by her side.
In an Instagram post shared that same day, Biles posted a picture of Owens kissing her at the meet, along with the aforementioned selfie.
Her caption read, “My whole heart. The best supporter, I couldn’t ask for a better husband,” with the brown heart and fingers-crossed emoji.
July 2024: Jonathan Owens appears in Simone Biles’ Netflix documentary
In the new Netflix docuseries “Simone Biles Rising,” Owens and Biles both shared how they support one another.
The star gymnast recalled how Owens was “a shoulder to lean on” after she withdrew from the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and how he supported her going to therapy.
However, in turn, Owens became inspired by Biles to go to therapy himself, saying in the docuseries, “She really opened my eyes.”
Biles said that she’s “so proud” of Owens for all that he’s accomplished in his football career.
“It’s nice to come to these games and to relate to the other girls,” Biles explained. “And it not just the about gymnastics or me, and I like it because all the attention gets to be on Jonathan.”
“It’s really important for me to be here to support my husband, because he’s supported me throughout my career, and I get to return that favor,” Biles added.
At one point in the Netflix docuseries, Biles and Owens walk through the house that they were building together.
“I never thought that we’d be building a house or any of the things,” Biles said. “It’s weird. It’s different because I never thought I’d be at this stage in my life, but I feel very grateful.”
“We feel as if this house will be our forever home and we’ll be able to grow into it,” she continued.
July 2024: Jonathan Owens cheers on Simone Biles from home in the qualifying round of the Paris Olympics
Jonathan Owens made sure to tune in to watch Biles compete during the women’s gymnastics team qualification round Sunday, July 28.
He uploaded a series of videos to his Instagram story of him supporting Biles during her remarkable opening round from the comfort of his bed. In one of the posts, he shared another photo of his wife with the caption “Let’s go baby!” beside patriotic red, white and blue hearts.
Biles finished the day with a score of 59.566 in the qualifying round, giving her the No. 1 spot in all-around. She bested her competition despite suffering a lower leg injury while warming up for her floor exercise. The 27-year-old athlete left the mat briefly to have her left ankle taped.
July 2024: Jonathan Owens heads to Paris to see Simone Biles become the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history
On July 30, Owens posted a pair of photos on Instagram of him wearing Biles’ gold medal around his neck after she celebrated an unprecedented achievement at the Paris Olympics: becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history.
“Witnessing history every time you step on the mat 😍🔥 Congrats baby on becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history!!!!” he wrote. “Just wow!!!! 8 of them!!!!! So thankful i was there to see it ❤️🤍💙”
In one of the pics, he shares a kiss with his wife after she and Team USA captured the women’s gymnastics team title earlier in the day.
The gold medal gave Biles eight Olympic medals in her career, making her the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history. She had previously been tied with Shannon Miller with seven medals.