Simone Biles' husband Jonathan Owens addresses backlash over controversial viral comment
Jonathan Owens ignored the backlash after he referred to himself as "the catch" in his relationship with Simone Biles.
The 28-year-old NFL star sparked controversy in December 2023 when he admitted he didn't know who the 27-year-old Olympian was when they first met on celebrity dating app Raya in 2020.
Speaking on 'The Pivot' podcast at the time, Jonathan was asked if he considered himself "the catch" in their marriage, and replied: "I always say that the men are the catch.”
Now, the athlete has insisted he "didn't even know" about the backlash at first, as he never has notifications on for his social media pages.
He told Us Weekly magazine: "I have all my social media notifications off, so I didn’t even know for a while.
“I was actually with my mom and Simone whenever it came out, so, all the comments and everything, I just let them read it.
"I try to stay off of it, and obviously if you feel like stuff is kind of getting out of hand, that’s when you reach in and say something.”
Jonathan explained that he doesn't response to trolls, as he feels like they're "going to say something" either way.
He added: "I don’t mean to cuss, but like, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If you say something, they’re going to say something; if you don’t say something, they’re going to say something.
"So, just live your life. People are going to talk about you anyway, so you might as well do it the way you want to.”
Simone has defended her man from the backlash, and admitted she "rolled her eyes and laughed" when she was "in the room" for the viral moment.
She told the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast earlier this year: "He never said I wasn’t a catch. He said he was a catch… He praises the ground that I walk on. Truly, I’ve never met a man like him.”
Simone was "really hurt" by the way the public perceive her husband, but Jonathan insisted what other people think really doesn't matter.
He added to Us Weekly: "Our biggest thing is, we know that those people don’t know us from a can of paint.
“I can’t base how I feel off how another person thinks I’m supposed to be...
"Everyone has a voice, but we do a good job of tuning it out. But sometimes you have to express yourself and let people know, like, ‘You’re in the wrong.’”
