Jonathan Owens explains how he handled backlash over candid comment on wife Simone Biles

Last December, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens went viral for his controversial "the catch" comment on his wife Simone Biles. Owens received huge backlash over his comments but didn't make any statements about his comments until recently.

On Monday, in an interview with Us Weekly, Owens talked about the backlash over his previous comments. Owens explained how he handled the controversy in such a way that it didn't take a huge toll on his life.

"I have all my social media notifications off, so I didn’t even know for a while," Owens said. "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."

Owens elaborated that he decided to stay quiet in his response to the backlash because he feels there's no winning when it's the trolls on the other side.

“I don’t mean to cuss, but like, damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” he said. “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.”

Jonathan Owens made the controversial comment on "The Pivot" podcast last year. Owens was asked if he felt himself as the "catch" in his marriage with Simone Biles. He replied:

"I always say that the men are the catch."

Simone Biles took a stand for husband Jonathan Owens over "the catch" comment.

In April, Simone Biles appeared on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, during which she shared her take on the backlash her husband received over his previous comment. She recalled the moment when she came across the viral comment.

“I was in the room," Biles said. … "They even panned over to me with that viral moment, and I just rolled my eyes and laughed. 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.”

Like her husband, Biles said that she focused on not worrying about online trolling, even though it "really hurt" her the way her husband's public perception has been made.