Simone Biles’ new documentary, Simone Biles Rising, focuses on her journey from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to her renaissance ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Viewers are also getting a look into her marriage to NFL player Jonathan Owens, who caught a lot of heat from his comments in a December 2023 interview. After the backlash, fans might be surprised to witness how their marriage works behind closed doors — this might be the start of his redemption arc.
Katie Walsh, the director of Biles’ documentary, defended Owens after seeing the couple’s interactions on and off camera. “I think, like so many times, especially in social media, you choose one sentence and then highlight that one sentence. And it’s not indicative of an entire relationship or an entire person,” she said of his awkward interview with The Pivot to the New York Post. “I hope that in this film, you get a chance to see more sides of him and them together, and it gives you a better understanding of the true relationship and the support that they provide each other and the love they have for each other.”
In the first two episodes, the Chicago Bears safety is seen supporting his then-girlfriend after she pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics with a case of the “twisties.” Biles praised the athlete in the series, “Post-Tokyo, Jonathan was just like… ‘You’ll get back to where you were,’ and made sure I was staying on top of my training. He was making sure I was going to my therapy sessions and was trying to do as much as he could, without kind of being bossy, but he was really just like a shoulder to lean on because he saw those dark times after Tokyo.”
Biles’ experience even inspired Owens to seek therapy to enhance his own athletic performance. “She said, ‘I think you need to see someone,’ and I’m like, ‘See who?'” The football player revealed in a docuseries confessional. “It’s a humbling thing because you have to go back and look at yourself in the mirror.” That’s a vastly different look at the athlete who was slammed by the internet for calling himself “the catch” in their relationship in 2023. It wasn’t his finest interview, especially since he’s married to the GOAT of gymnastics. However, it doesn’t appear to be a good representation of who he is as a person.
One X fan even apologized to Owens after watching the first two episodes. “Watching Simone Biles, Rising on Netflix and I’m here to personally apologize to Jonathan Owens, her husband for all the unnecessary bulls**t we’ve ever put him through,” they tweeted. “We misunderstood. We assumed unfairly. He loves and supports her deeply and it shows. He feels authentic and he’s here to make her life easier and no one else’s.” Hopefully, Owens will see some of Biles’ supporters turning the narrative around.
Before you go, click here to see 15 times Simone Biles defied gravity.
