‘The View’ co-hosts argue over Simone Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens: ‘I want more for her’
They don’t share the same view of Simone Biles’ controversial husband.
On Tuesday’s episode of “The View,” co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin argued about Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, 26, and her husband, Green Bay Packers NFL player Jonathan Owens, 28, in the wake of Owens’ recent comments that set the internet aflame.
On the ABC talk show, Griffin defended Owens, calling the pair a “very beautiful and adorable couple” who “seem very happy.” She also asked everyone to “give him some grace.”
Owens recently got slammed for comments he made on the “Pivot” podcast, where he said that he was more of a prize than his Olympic gold medalist wife (“I always say that the men are the catch,” he said).
He also confessed that he didn’t know who Biles was before they dated, when he first met her on a dating app.
“I didn’t know who she was at the time, but the first thing that I saw was that she just had a bunch of [Instagram] followers so in my mind, I’m like, ‘OK, she got to be good,’” he said.
The couple made their relationship public in 2020, and tied the knot in April 2023.
Reacting to the controversial interview, one fan tweeted, “The interview with Simone Biles and her husband Jonathan Owens is SO embarrassing. I can’t believe she let him talk about their relationship like that,” while sharing red flag emojis.
“if everyone is calling you Simone Biles’ husband … you are not the catch,” another person wrote, while a third fan commented, “I had to Google Jonathan Owens but I did not have to Google Simone Biles.”
At the time, Biles appeared to fire back at her husband’s critics, posting on X (formerly Twitter) a meme captioned, “Are y’all done yet?”
Aside from Griffin, the other “View” co-hosts did not side with Owens.
Hostin scoffed at Owens’ claim that he hadn’t heard of his famous athlete wife before they dated, saying, “He knew who she was. She was on a Wheaties box! Everybody knows who Simone Biles is. I don’t know who he is.”
Griffin fired back: “He explains that he was in [football] training camp during the Olympics in July and early August and he didn’t have NBC. He was in college. He might not have seen. I get it. She’s the greatest of all time so he should’ve known, but I give him some grace. I think they’re a very cute couple.”
She also defended his remark about being the catch, calling it “playful.”
“If you watch them together, he treats her like a queen,” Griffin said. “He is obsessed with her. So he realized he did get the greatest of all time and she’s amazing and I think he does actually treat her super well. I root for this one.”
Hostin was not convinced, however, saying, “I want more for her. I hope she’s happy. No one ever knows what’s going on in relationships. But she is the catch.”
“The View” airs weekdays on ABC at 11 a.m. ET.
