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Jonathan Owens has sparked outrage for posing with his wife Simone Biles' gold medal after her historic Olympic victory.
On July 30, the 29-year-old NFL star took to Instagram to share a photo with his wife, after the U.S. women's gymnastics team won gold at the Olympics. Following the team's all-around, Biles also walked her way to her fifth Olympic gold medal.
In his Instagram photos, Owens had his arm around his wife and was wearing a white T-shirt with her last name and photos of her on it. He also had the gold medal, which his wife just won in Paris, around his neck and was holding it in his hand.
Owens has now received a huge backlash in the comments, with fans criticising him and questioning why he posed with his partner's Olympic medal in the first place.
“That gold medal you have in your hands is Simone's, not yours, my friend,” wrote one, while another added: “Why is she holding it like she won it?”
“But why are you wearing it? How strange,” agreed a third.
A fourth social media user wrote: “Give me back the medal, darling, it’s not yours.”
However, other fans in the comments congratulated Biles and praised her husband for traveling to Paris to support her as she is in the midst of training for her upcoming season with the Chicago Bears.
“Congratulations! I’m so happy you were able to negotiate with Chicago and go to Paris to support your wife! I’m crying tears of joy! I’m so excited for Simone and her team! I love you all!” wrote one in the comments.
“You guys are the sweetest. I love your love. It’s the sweetest thing to see! Give your girl a big hug from all of us here in the US. We are so proud of her,” another wrote, while a third agreed: “I’m so happy you got to see your wife make Olympic history!”
In the opening caption of his post, Owens celebrated his wife's historic victory in Paris, which saw her become one of the most decorated gymnasts with eight Olympic medals.
“You witness history every time you step on the mat,” he wrote. “Congratulations babe on becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history! Just amazing!!! That’s eight!!! I’m so grateful to have been there to see it.”
The Independent has reached out to representatives for Owens and Biles for comment.
Owens had previously received criticism for his comments about his 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 a membership-based dating app, Raya. When also 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 has since defended her husband, telling Alex Cooper during an episode of the Call her daddy In April, on a podcast, she said she was amused by the viral reaction to her husband's comments. However, she didn't feel that way for long, as she later noted how hurt she was by the criticism.
“At first I thought it was really funny, but then I got my feelings hurt,” she said. “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 spoke out again about the backlash her husband received after fans commented on her Instagram photos with him and told her she was the “prize” in the relationship. They also claimed Owens was “doing the bare minimum.”
“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…”
