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Simone Biles has come to the defense of her husband Jonathan Owens 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 U.S. women's gymnastics team won gold in the all-around event. In it, he has the medal around his neck and is holding it up high. 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,” pointing out that it was not he who “spun like a top 30 times in the air and landed without stumbling.”
However, other fans congratulated Biles and praised her soccer player husband for traveling to Paris to support her as she is in the midst of training for her upcoming season with the Chicago Bears.
So far at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles has already won three gold medals. She now has a total of 10 Olympic medals, seven of them gold.
The 27-year-old gymnast commented on a fan's TikTok video on August 1 to address the controversy surrounding her husband, responding to Breaugh and others who had criticized him.
“The craziest thing is that I put my medal on every single member of my family and took pictures of them,” she wrote. “So don’t ever make assumptions. Like you’re all fucking 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 her to put on the medal. She also noted how the NFL star has been seen taking notes during his wife’s competitions.
“Maybe he really is keeping score, which is more than anyone has ever done for me. Maybe I am miserable,” Breaugh joked. “The most decorated gymnast of all time will call me miserable. I really don’t care.”
Owens has previously been criticized for his comments about his relationship. In December 2023, he claimed during an episode of The pivot On a podcast, Owens said he “didn’t know” who Biles was when they met on the membership-based dating app Raya in 2020. When asked if he thinks he’s the “bump” in their relationship, Owens replied, “I always say men are the bump.” His comment about being a bump drew the most criticism from fans, who pointed out that Owens’ wife was a successful Olympian.
Biles told Alex Cooper at the Call her daddy podcast in April that she found the viral reaction to her husband's comments funny, but also confessed how hurt she was by it.
“At first I thought it was really funny, but then I got my feelings hurt,” she explained. “And one night I broke down and thought, ‘Why are they talking about my husband like that? They don’t know him, they don’t know who he is. And if anyone does know him, they know he’s the sweetest guy and would do anything for anyone. ’”
Biles added: “For me it’s like, ‘Talk about me all you want, but don’t talk about my family, ever. ’ Because I’ve been in the spotlight long enough that I can ignore things and have my little argument about it.”
In May, she again addressed the backlash towards her husband, after fans took to the comments of her Instagram photos with him and reminded her that she was the “prize” in the relationship.
“I’m going to address this quickly, the joke was never a joke! You are being blatantly disrespectful to my relationship and my husband. So I’m going to go ahead and say this once. With respect, f*** off,” Biles responded to the backlash on her Instagram Story.[And] If you keep commenting or tweeting at me, I will block you. Simple as that. And no, I don’t need to touch the grass or anything you suggest…”
