Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles.Photo:Carmen Mandato/Getty
Carmen Mandato/Getty
Jonathan Owensknows it’s inconceivable that he didn’t know who wifeSimone Bileswas when they first met, but he insists he was oblivious.
“A lot of people don’t believe me when I say I had no clue,” the NFL safety toldVanity Fairin a cover story for their February issue, which published online Wednesday.
“I never once was like, ‘Oh, let me check gymnastics out,’ " he said, noting he only caught some basketball and a bit of track.
He quickly learned when he found Biles on Instagram. “I was like, ‘Man, she got a lot of followers, she must be pretty good,” he toldVanity Fair.
Owens, 28, drew skepticism from fans for making similar remarks during a joint appearance with Biles on theThe Pivotpodcast back in December.
“Whenshe won the Olympics, I was in college, and we didn’t have NBC, we didn’t haveOlympicschannels, and we were in [training] camp [in] late July, early August,” he explained, adding, “So I’m not paying attention. I never would’ve had a moment where I would’ve watched [her compete].”
Biles messaged Owens first on Raya, he said on the podcast. After “texting back and forth,” they met in person several days later. And though he had been “afraid to commit” because of where he was in life at the time, Biles won him over. “You know, it happens when you least expect it. When we hung out,we just hit it off instantly. Laughed the whole night.”
In herVanity Faircover story, Biles said the two were instantly “hooked” when they met.
Since they met during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two told the outlet their relationship started with time spent at one another’s house during quarantine, drinking sangria, watching movies and playing games. “I just noticed her laugh,” recalled Owens. “It was just contagious. We could talk all day and we’d stayed up late, and there just wasn’t an awkward moment.”
“I’m going to be honest, obviously he’s very fine,” Biles said, of her initial attraction to Owens. “[But] besides his looks, he was so sweet and kind, and I think what I liked about him was his confidence. He truly believes he’s the best at everything.”
Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles.SImone Biles/Instagram
SImone Biles/Instagram
That confidence is what was likely behindOwens’ claim that he was “the catch” in their relationship.
“I always say that the men are the catch,” Owens said, after if he considered himself the “catch” in his relationship with Biles. Grilled on “How in the hell did you pull Simone Biles?”, Owens said, “It’s really how she pulled me, man, that’s the question.”
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Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens.Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
She also shareda photo of herself and Owensboth striking a pose on their wedding day on her Instagram, and added the caption, “Mood.”
Days later, Biles reacted to the criticism again as it continued to mount, posting a photo of a confused-looking child scratching their headon X(formerly known as Twitter). “Are y’all done yet?” Biles wrote alongside the photo.
Vanity Fair’s February issues hits newsstands January 23.
source: people.com
