Jonathan Owens chose to sidestep the controversy that ensued after he cheekily dubbed himself “the catch” in his relationship with Simone Biles.
The NFL star caused a stir in December 2023 when he admitted that he didn’t initially recognize the Olympian when they first connected on the celebrity dating app Raya in 2020.
During an appearance on “The Pivot” podcast, Owens was put on the spot about whether he viewed himself as “the catch” in their marriage.
“I always say that the men are the catch,” he candidly responded.
Recently, Owens revealed that the initial uproar flew right over his head, as he’s a master of the art of turning off social media notifications.
“I have all my social media notifications off, so I didn’t even know for a while,” he shared with Us Weekly. 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,” he said.
Owens has a laissez-faire approach to online critics, recognizing that they’re going to say whatever they want, no matter what.
“I don’t mean to cuss, but like, damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” he stated. “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,” he added.
Biles has stood by her spouse through the backlash. She admitted she “rolled her eyes and laughed” during the infamous moment.
“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,” she told the “Call Her Daddy” podcast earlier this year.
Despite Biles feeling “really hurt” by the public’s reaction to her husband, Owens himself remains unfazed by external opinions.
“Our biggest thing is, we know that those people don’t know us from a can of paint,” he said to Us Weekly. “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,” Owens said. “But sometimes you have to express yourself and let people know, like, ‘You’re in the wrong.’”
