If there was ever a day for Simone Biles to ignore critics of her marriage to Jonathan Owens, that day is today!
The Olympic gymnast, 27, and the Chicago Bears player, 28, marked their very first year as husband and wife, after tying the knot (twice!) back in April of 2023.
Their special milestone comes on the heels of the decorated athlete's response to backlash her husband faced after his viral comments while appearing on The Pivot podcast, during which he implied he was the "catch" in the relationship.
Simone took to Instagram April 22, and honored her first anniversary with Jonathan by posting a sweet tribute. She first shared a photo from their civil wedding in Houston, Texas, which captures the two – Simone in a white, layered tulle dress, Jonathan in a tan suit – walking on a rooftop.
The heartwarming photo was followed by one of them walking by a pedestrian bridge, surrounded by autumn leaves, plus another of them getting some portraits taken.
"This is your sign to marry your best friend," Simone endearingly suggested in her caption, adding: "Happy 1st anniversary. I'm excited for many more to come. I wish I could marry you a million times more! I love you so much!"
Fans were then quick to take to the comments section under the post and gush about the photos and congratulate the happy couple, though first Jonathan replied: "Crazy how fast time flies when you're with your best friend. To many more baby!!!! I love you so much."
MORE: Simone Biles turns 27 – but adorable throwback photos show she hasn't changed at all
Others followed suit with: "Happy anniversary to Mrs. And Mr. Simone Biles," and: "I'm so happy for y'all. Please don't let the bitter people influence you in any way," as well as: "Too stinking adorable! You two are perfect for each other!"
© GettyLast week, while appearing on Alex Cooper's popular podcast Call Her Daddy to mark the 100 day countdown to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Simone opened up about how hurt she really was over the reaction to Jonathan's comments.
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© Instagram"I thought everything was OK, and then I go on Twitter and everybody's like, 'Divorce this man. He's mean!'" she first recalled. At the time, her response had simply been a tweet on X – where hashtags like "Mr. Biles" were trending – that read: "Are y'all done yet?"
MORE: Simone Biles reveals why she 'cried a lot' after her wedding to Jonathan Owens
© Getty"I thought it was hilarious what all these people were saying, 'Divorce him, divorce him,'" she noted, however admitted that it eventually instead "hurt my feelings." She further revealed: "One night I broke down and I'm like, 'Why are you guys talking about my husband like this? You don't know him. You don't know who he is and if anybody's met him, you know he's the sweetest guy, will do anything for anybody,'" and added: "That really hurt that they were talking about my husband like that. For me, it's like, talk about me all you want, but don't come for my family, never."
She remembered thinking: "He's the sweetest. He praises the ground that I walk on," and emphasized: "Truly, I've never met a man like him," and that he "never said I wasn't a catch. He said he was a catch. Because he is!"
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