Simone Biles trades in her Packers parka for a glamorous photo shoot in the latest issue of Vanity Fair and talks about Green Bay in the cover story.
The most decorated gymnast in history sat down with contributing editor Leah Faye Cooper in Houston for a wide-ranging interview about the highs and lows of her career, her husband, Packers safety Jonathan Owens, fame, family, mental health care and her nonprofit foster care work.
On being part of the Packers organization
After she and Owens celebrated their wedding in May, he flew to Green Bay to sign with the Packers. “I cried a lot,” Biles said about having to be apart so much due to their respective careers. But it’s also not something the couple can’t navigate, she said. They’re building a home in the Houston suburb of Spring and also have a residence in Green Bay.
“We’re both so busy, so it’s not like I’m sitting (around) waiting for him to come home, but it’s just hard,” she told Vanity Fair. “We love being with the Packers organization (and) Lambeau. The fans are … I wouldn’t even call them crazy; they’re dedicated. They love their players as if those are their children.’
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On being at Lambeau Field the same night Taylor Swift was
She also talked about being at Lambeau for the December game against the Kansas City Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football.’ There was much anticipation that if Taylor Swift showed up to cheer for her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the world might get a selfie of the two women together at the game. Swift was there, but the photo meet-up never happened.
The two were sitting in different sections, Biles said in the interview, ‘and I’m not sure they were exactly happy that the Packers were beating them.”
The NBC cameras caught Biles, dressed in Packers cold weather gear, down on on the sidelines before the game giving Owens a hug and a kiss. Swift arrived at Lambeau wearing a red Stella McCartney coat and could be seen watching from a stadium suite.
On how she and Jonathan Owens met
The two met during the pandemic in 2020 on the private dating app Raya. Owens, who was also interviewed for the article, said Biles had a laugh that was contagious and the two could talk all day and night without ever an awkward moment. He didn’t have a clue she was the greatest gymnast of all time, until he found her on Instagram.
“I was like, man, she got a lot of followers, she must be pretty good,” Owens told Vanity Fair.
Biles’ initial attraction to Owens might have had something to do with his looks, she admits in the interview, calling him “very fine.” But he was also “so sweet and kind, and I think what I liked about him was his confidence. He truly believes he’s the best at everything,” she said.
He proposed on Valentine’s Day of 2022. They married in a small civil ceremony at the courthouse in Houston last April, followed by a celebration in May in Mexico.
Vanity Fair also released a 9-minute video this week in which Biles reflects on her life-changing moments. She talks more about her relationship with Owens, knowing she was going to marry him when she met him and how she’s the only person who calls him ‘Jonathan.’ Everyone else calls him ‘J.O.’
Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert.
