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Simone Biles, who has had quite the stunning transformation, is often referred to as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, and her hard work has paid off as she lives a lavish life thanks to her career and fame. After winning multiple gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, she’s taken a step back from competitive gymnastics and is focusing on her business ventures as well as supporting her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, whom she married in the spring of 2023.
As Biles’ public persona has grown, so has the scrutiny surrounding her — and, increasingly, the man she chose to build her life with. While she remains widely admired, there have been quite a few high-profile moments involving her and her husband that have stirred the controversial pot. From questionable interview remarks to social media comments that had people scratching their heads, these instances have repeatedly drawn negative attention to the athletic power couple.
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens’ puppy purchase sparked criticism
A major scandal plaguing Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens stemmed from the couple’s decision to bring home a new Doberman puppy. Biles and Owens purchased the dog from Regal Empire Dobermans, a breeder that had previously drawn criticism for its questionable practices such as promoting puppy raffles online.
In December 2025, the breeder posted a photo of Simone Biles and her husband holding a Doberman puppy on their Instagram page. The post was quickly shared and reposted, spreading like wildfire, and people were disappointed in Biles for all kinds of reasons. It started with the purchasing of a puppy with cropped ears, which is a practice many veterinarians and animal rights activists consider to be unethical. Others raised their eyebrows because Biles had always been an advocate for rescuing and adopting animals, rather than purchasing from a breeder. In 2019, Biles even spent time at a Texas animal shelter to help find ways to get more dogs adopted.
In an interview with Click2Houston during the event, the gymnast said, “I feel like we should be a voice for all animals, just because they can’t speak, and I feel like once we’re a voice, it helps them.” But it seemed her views had changed since she and Owens purchased their pup from a breeder. PETA reacted to the couple’s puppy adoption and told Us Weekly, “It’s simple math: for every dog purchased, a dog in a shelter loses their chance at a home. If you were set on a Doberman, there are many rescues that would have happily worked with you to adopt one in need.”
Biles’ husband sounded arrogant in an interview
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By the time Simone Biles met her husband, Jonathan Owens, she was already a four-time Olympic gold medalist. However, on an episode of the podcast “The Pivot,” the NFL player admitted they matched on Raya, but he had no clue who she was because he’d never really followed her sport. That admission alone raised eyebrows, but that wasn’t the end.
As the podcast hosts jokingly suggested that Owens was “the catch” in the relationship, Owens decided to really lean into that idea, explaining that he’d always felt that the man was the catch in a romantic relationship. Yikes. While the podcast is usually known to focus on athletes’ careers and personal life journeys, this particular episode went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Fans of Biles, who had a jaw dropping exit from Team USA in 2021, were left rolling their eyes at the remarks from the NFL player. On a Reddit thread discussing the controversy, one of the most upvoted comments with more than 6,000 likes noted, “Jonathan Owens isn’t even notable at his chosen profession. He will go down in history as Simone Biles’ first husband.” Others laughed at the way the others on the podcast looked at Owens as he made those comments. We really hope Owens learned his lesson and realized that some things are better left unsaid.
Fans thought Owens tried to steal Biles’ Olympic thunder
A social media post of Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens from the 2024 Paris Olympics left many fans divided. Owens took to Instagram to write a heartfelt message congratulating his wife on yet another gold medal win, writing, “Congrats baby on becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history!!!!” While many thought it was a sweet gesture, some fans took issue with the accompanying photo. In the image, both Owens and Biles are smiling, but Owens is wearing the gold medal around his neck, which upset quite a few fans.
However, it’s hard not to wonder whether this would have been an issue with any other couple. It’s very likely critics found Owens’ behavior another example of questionable optics after his previous comments about their relationship. Supporters felt that was a stretch and that many athletes allow family members to wear their medals for photos. Even Biles was enraged by the nitpicking and replied to a critics’ since-deleted TikTok, writing, “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–ing miserable. Leave us alone” (via Today).
Simone Biles reignited an almost forgotten controversy
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More than a year after Jonathan Owens’ questionable remarks on a podcast sparked backlash, Simone Biles chose to address the controversy again in the second part of her Netflix documentary, “Simone Biles Rising.” While it was clearly intended to provide context and defend her husband, revisiting the incident only garnered renewed attention to comments that had mostly subsided.
In the documentary, Biles said, “Social media gives [followers] this false sense of reality that they really know who you are and how you function,” adding, “Most of the time they don’t understand the mental toll that it takes, especially going into an Olympic year” (via Page Six). The internet found the explanation unconvincing, noting that the backlash stemmed from less online speculation and more from Owens’ own public comments about their marriage. While jokes about being “the catch” in a relationship may land differently within a group of friends, they can come across as insensitive when said publicly.
On Reddit, reactions reflected growing frustration with the issue being unnecessarily revisited. In a thread discussing Biles’ comment, a response with more than 1,000 upvotes read, “She should just stop speaking on the matter,” and another replied, “When I saw the headline, I was like, “Dang. He said something else??” But no. It’s still being talked about.” With the majority of Biles’ scandals stemming from heated online discussions and controversial social media posts, some fans even suggested Biles was simply spending way too much time on the internet.
