Life with Simone Biles: New Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens talks an elite-athlete relationship
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles do have a rivalry going. Between the two, the action goes on behind the scenes.
The Chicago Bears safety and the Olympic champion gymnast compete at a high level on the phones.
"We compete at iPhone darts at an elite level, iPhone," Owens said. "It gets crazy."
Who wins?
"I mean, I win," Owens said. "A majority of the time."
That's just part of the couple's relationship, which now comes into view in Chicago after Owens signed a two-year deal with the Bears this week.
"We want go out and eat dinner and stay at home and sit and chill, play with the dogs," Owens said. "It's nothing really that we do that's just so much crazier than the next person versus just how much we train."
Owens said he and Biles rarely talk about sports when they're together. They do so much that's separate, sports takes a back burner.
The two just talk about their days, debrief and talk about the latest.
Biles and Owens first met when Owens was a safety in Houston, trying to make the Texans roster.
Owens wasn't recruited to a large program coming out of high school in St. Louis. The Christian Brothers College High School alumni attended Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Missouri, due north of Kansas City.
Out of college, Owens went undrafted. He signed with the Houston Texans, and recalls how he was told he wasn't good enough for the first three years of his career.
In year four, he started all 17 games for the Texans before moving to Green Bay, where he started 11 games for the Packers last season.
Owens' notoriety came when the attention shifted toward Biles, who made the trip to see Owens play every Sunday. Even with all that attention, Owens is never jealous.
"I'm secure with myself," Owens said. "Me and Simone got together when I was on practice squad … it's like a respect thing people give that they always mention my wife first, just because you always want your wife on this pedestal. I love her. I support her man, and it's no jealousy."
In fact, he said it already means plenty that Bears fans are embracing the idea of Biles joining the Bears bandwagon.
"It gives you more of an encouragement to go out there and throw your body on the line for them," Owens said. "Me and my wife man, we both super excited."
Jonathan Owens of the Packers meets with wife Simone Biles before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Lambeau Field on Nov. 19, 2023, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Owens did mention how excited Biles is to be a part of the Chicago fan base. He mentioned she's excited for the pizza, and that she won't need to take a connecting flight from Houston to Chicago like she did to see him play in Green Bay.
Biles mentioned the latter on social media.
"I’m so excited about not having a connecting flight to go & see my husband," Biles wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"She's 4-8, so it's intimidating if 20 people, grown men, come up to you with stuff to sign," Owens said. "That's kind of like some of the things I guess she has to deal with that most people wouldn't understand."
Biles also mentioned the former.
"pizza & hotdogs," Biles wrote on X. "F YEAH."
Biles will fit in perfectly with Chicagoans. Owens will too, knowing he spurned the Bears' biggest rival for a chance to join a loaded secondary.
Owens said the Bears value in him was what drew him to sign in Chicago.
"We wanted to be somewhere where we felt like we were wanted, and I just really felt like Chicago really valued what I can do on the field, my versatility," Owens said. "I'm just excited to come here and be a part of this organization. "
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