Simone Biles Claps Back at Critics Over Husband Jonathan Owens Wearing Her Gold Medal: ‘Leave Us Alone’

Simone Biles’ husband, Jonathan Owens, faced criticism after fans of the Olympic gymnast took issue with him wearing her gold medal.

“Witnessing history every time you step on the mat,” Jonathan, 29, captioned a series of photos on Tuesday, July 30, adding a flame and heart eye emoji. “Congrats baby on becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history!!!! Just wow!!!! 8 of them!!!!! So thankful I was there to see it.”

Fans swiftly filled his comments section with negative comments aimed at the Chicago Bears player.

“Give the medal back bby thats not yours,” one fan wrote. “There’s something very unsettling about you wearing her medal. Seems off. Give it back to her immediately,” another commented. “Why he holding it like he won it,” another chimed in, while yet another follower added, “That’s Simone’s gold medal you’re holding, not yours my guy.”

While supporters of Simone defended her, the gymnast herself showered her husband with love in the comments.

“My whole heart. i love you,” she wrote with four red heart emoji. “Means the world you’re here.”

Simone eventually grew tired of seeing her husband criticized on social media for wearing her medal. After TikTok star Kiera Breaugh posted a video on Wednesday, July 31, asking Jonathan to “take her medal off” – which garnered over 450,000 “likes” – Simone responded.

“Crazy thing is, I put my medal on every single one of my family members and took pictures. So don’t ever make assumptions. Like y’all are so f–king miserable. Leave us alone,” Simone commented on Thursday, August 1, the same day she claimed the gold medal in the women’s individual all-around gymnastics competition.

Jonathan and Simone began their relationship after meeting on Raya in March 2020, and their connection quickly deepened during the pandemic shutdown.

“We ended up hanging out right before the pandemic. It was one of the few times in her life where everything was just shut off and she couldn’t do anything,” he told Texas Monthly in 2021. “So, we used it to get to know each other — really get to know each other. It created our bond and made it stronger. Now I’m so thankful.”

He proposed in February 2022, which Simone described as, “the easiest yes.” The couple got married at the Houston courthouse in April 2023 before having a beautiful destination wedding in Mexico shortly after.

Jonathan faced criticism following a December 2023 interview on “The Pivot” where he referred to himself as “the catch” in the relationship.

“It’s really how she pulled me, man. That’s the question,” he unabashedly said. “[I] had been on the app for a couple days and then she pops up. I’m like, ‘Lemme see who this is.’ I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity [and I was like], ‘I’ll see what’s up.’”

Despite the backlash, Simone stood by her husband and defended his comments during an interview on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast.

“I thought everything was OK, and then I go on Twitter and everybody’s like, ‘Divorce this man. He’s mean!’ I’m like, ‘He’s the sweetest. He praises the ground that I walk on.’ Truly, I’ve never met a man like him,” Simone said. “He never said I wasn’t a catch. He said he was a catch. Because he is!”

Despite supporting her husband, Simone admitted the comments “hurt [her] feelings,” saying, “One night I broke down and I’m like, ‘Why are you guys talking about my husband like this? You don’t know him. You don’t know who he is and if anybody’s met him, you know he’s the sweetest guy, will do anything for anybody.’”

“That really hurt that they were talking about my husband like that. For me, it’s like, talk about me all you want, but don’t come for my family, never,” she added.