Jonathan Owens, Simone Biles’ husband, negotiated the Olympic conflict when he signed with the Bears
'I can’t wait to be able to support her'
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Jonathan Owens discussed the arrangement months ago.
When the Chicago Bears signed the free-agent safety in March, Owens and his agents broached the topic.
“Obviously the Olympics were coming up and you know who my wife is,” Owens said Thursday after the Bears’ training camp practice. “It was all respectful. We went to them and asked, ‘We’d really appreciate if he could go to support his wife.’
“I can’t wait to be able to support her.”
Owens is Simone Biles’ husband.
And he’ll leave Chicago on Monday after Bears practice to fly to Paris for the Olympics.
The most decorated gymnast in history, Biles owns a record 37 Olympics medals and world championships, including four Olympic gold medals. She represented Team USA in 2016 and 2020, Biles claiming the all-around gold medal in 2016.
The Olympic women’s team finals are scheduled for Tuesday and the women’s all-around final scheduled for Aug. 1.
Owens is scheduled to be in Paris for each.
Expect his breath to be short.
“It’s the person you love most, man, and you see them out there in a position where someone could get hurt and you care,” Owens said. “I’m just holding my breath and I have my little piece of paper right there ready calculating everything so I can’t wait.
“It’s always super nerve-wracking.”
Owens will miss the Bears’ full padded practice on Tuesday, and what’s expected to be a lighter practice for the Bears the following day before they fly Wednesday to Canton, Ohio, for the Hall of Game on Aug. 1.
The Bears are off Aug. 2 before returning to practice Aug. 3, the day Owens lands back in Chicago.
He will have access to recordings of every meeting and schematic installation while in Paris, while also working out.
“That’s a big deal, where he’s supporting the one he loves the most,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said earlier this week. “I think that’s so cool he gets to do that and we welcome that and it’s going to be awesome.
“Go USA.”
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Teammates seem less concerned about his absence and more excited for his opportunity.
“Like, everyone’s a gymnastics fan,” Owens said. “People asking me questions and like man, you walk around the building and might see her up there [on a screen].
“Guys are being super supportive, it’s super dope and just asking [me] to bring souvenirs back.”
Owens and Biles met during Owens’ four seasons playing for the Texans in Houston, nearby the gym where Biles trains six days a week. They were engaged in early 2022 before his final season in Houston and first campaign starting more than two games in a year.
Biles, 27, and Owens, 29, married in 2023. Next week may be Owens’ lone chance to see his wife compete under the brightest lights.
Owens recorded 125 tackles, four pass deflections and a sack en route to a 2023 contract from the Green Bay Packers. Biles supported Owens at Green Bay games as he started 11 contests and tallied 84 tackles, three pass deflections, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a touchdown.
The two were featured on a Biles-centric Netflix documentary that premiered this month.
At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Biles suffered from the “twisties,” a condition where a gymnast’s mind and body disconnect. Biles recently described the condition as feeling “lost in air ... praying I land on my feet ... fighting my body and my mind to do these tricks.”
She returned to non-twisting elements of those games and has since returned to her full slate of skills.
That won’t calm Owens’ nerves.
“Because you care, though,” Owens said. “Any time you get nervous is a good thing because you care. This is such a tough sport and she does stuff that no one else in the world can do.
“I'm nervous and praying for her safety and praying for her clear head that she can go out there and do what she does.”
If Owens’ attendance in Paris can support Biles, the Bears are all for it. The organization practiced Tuesday amid a handful of executives' children, including two of general manager Ryan Poles’ sons.
Owens called the Bears a “first-class organization” for excusing his absence.
“I just think about, ‘How did I get so lucky that this is my wife and I get to see her?’” Owens said. "Someone that’s literally at the pinnacle of their sport, and I get to call [her] my wife.
“Just blessed.”