Jonathan Owens, who is a star in the National Football League, claims that he was unaware of Simone Biles when they first met, despite the fact that she is the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport.
The newlyweds, who sealed the wedding in April, had their first encounter on the dating app dating back in the year 2020. It was during a recent chat on "The Pivot" podcast that Raya Owens, who is 28 years old, recalled.
"So literally, I had been using the app for a couple of days, and all of a sudden, she appeared, and I thought to myself, 'Let me see who this is.'" Gymnastics was something that I had never really paid much attention to before, so it peaked my interest.
The hosts of the podcast, Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder, were former NFL players, and Owens told them as Biles, who was 26 years old at the time, sat nearby listening.
The safety for the Green Bay Packers, who was playing for the Houston Texans at the time, said that he swiped her and found out that they were a match. After that, he headed to the gym to get some exercise.
When he returned from his workout, he saw that he had received a few likes on his Instagram account. He laughed as he stated this. He went on to explain that Biles had sent him a message later on to say "hey."
'Man, this had to be real,'" Owens thought back. At that moment, I had no idea who she was. However, my initial impression was that she had a large number of followers. For that reason, I tell myself, "OK, she's got to be solid."
In the days leading up to their first encounter in person in Houston, the future pair started exchanging texts with one another.
The football star said that Biles put in more effort than he did to start a romance. According to him, "I was afraid to commit," therefore he fought against it. "This is my third year as a professional in the NFL," I thought to myself. "It's still quite early."
After spending time together, that changed. "When we hung out, man, it was as if we hit it off immediately," Owens said. "All night long, we couldn't help but laugh."
"I wanted to know who she was up against, so I asked her." Continuing to acknowledge his ignorance of gymnastics, Owens remembered, "She told me, 'Myself.'" My recollection of it is particularly vivid in that regard.