Simone Biles addresses online criticism of husband Jonathan Owens

She called comments "disrespectful to my relationship and my husband."

May 20, 2024, 12:12 PM

Simone Biles took to her Instagram story to call out critics of her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, after Owens' comments about not knowing who Biles was prior to dating caused controversy months ago.

"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," began Biles' post on Sunday.

"If you keep commenting or tweeting at me I'm just going to block you. simple as that," the post continued. "And no I don't need to touch grass or whatever tf y'all suggest…"

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens attend a game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center on December 28, 2021 in Houston, Texas.
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

She ended the post with words of admiration for supporters of her and Owens. "@ everyone else that supports us, we love y'all so much."

The post comes after Biles won the Core Hydration Classic on Sunday, bringing in the top score ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer. After the big victory, Biles posted an Instagram kissing Owens captioned "my whole heart 🤎🤞🏾 the best supporter, I couldn't ask for a better husband." Despite several supportive comments, several commenters poked fun at the controversy and Owens.

Simone Biles looks on prior to the 2024 Core Hydration Classic at XL Center on May 18, 2024 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

The criticisms Biles called out in her post stemmed from a December podcast episode in which Owens said that he "didn't know" who Biles was when she first messaged him on the dating app, Raya, in 2020.

"The first thing that I saw was that she just had a bunch of followers," Owens said at the time. "So in my mind I'm like, 'OK, she's got to be good.'"

In April, Biles addressed the comments on an episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, saying that that there was "nothing foul about it," in response to what he said and the reaction from others "hurt my feelings."

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

Biles and Owens got married in a courthouse wedding in April 2023 before having a destination wedding. Since then, the couple have kept their followers updated about life as a married couple, including details about the renovation on their home.