Packers' Jonathan Owens recalls matching with Simone Biles on dating app

Jonathan Owens, who hasn't had an easy journey in the NFL, has opened up on how he met Simona Biles.

While the Arizona Cardinals signed him after being an undrafted free agent in 2018, he did not play a single snap. Instead, they placed him on injured reserve for the entire year. From there, he became a 17-game starter for the Houston Texans last season.

The Green Bay Packers signed him this year, and he has started eight of 14 games. He wouldn’t have done it without the support of his wife, gymnastics legend Simone Biles. While they have known each other since 2020, Owens recently recalled how they got to know each other.

On The Pivot podcast with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, Owens said that he first met Biles on a dating app:

“So literally, (I) have been on the app (Raya) for a couple of days, man and it's like she pops up and I'm like, let me see what is it. Gymnastics? I never really paid attention to gymnastics. So, it piqued my curiosity. I'm like, Okay, I see what's up, I swiped. It said we matched.”

Biles is considered the greatest gymnast of all time. She won gold medals in the team, all-around, vault and floor exercise competitions at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. she has one silver and two bronze finishes in the quadrennial sporting event.

The Texas native dominated the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, winning 23 gold medals in six years. She also took home four silvers and three bronze medals.

Jonathan Owens continued his story:

“I come back to my phone, and, then, she messaged me on the app like, hey. That's it, man. This gotta be fake, like, I don't know. I didn't know who she was at the time.”

“She messaged me. This is like a Tuesday, and we were texting back and forth. And then we hung out Friday. ... She came through down to Houston. ... Then the rest is history man.”

Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles made their relationship Instagram official in August 2020. They got engaged in February 2022 and married in April this year. Biles has also regularly shared updates of their Texas residence under construction.

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Simone Biles also went through career struggles like Jonathan Owens

While regarded as the best in her sport, Simone Biles felt immense pressure when she competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She withdrew from the finals of four competitions due to mental health issues. She later revealed that she was suffering from “the twisties,” leading her to lose air awareness.

Jonathan Owens’ wife returned to competition at the 2023 U.S. Classic in June. Three months later, she won four gold medals at the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

Meanwhile, Owens scored his first NFL touchdown off a fumble recovery during the Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions.