It is safe to say that Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens are each other’s ride-or-die. The couple has shown support for each other’s endeavors ever since they got together in a relationship. Jonathan Owens did his part during the Paris Olympics, where he kept the gymnast’s score in a special diary, a trait he inherited from her parents. The Chicago Bears player also made time to visit her during her Gold Over America Tour despite being in a hectic schedule himself.

Thus, now that Simone Biles has no sporting obligation left, the gymnast is paying her dues. She has already attended numerous NFL games to support him. But now, it seems that she has made quite a major sacrifice for her husband, as she has decided to swap a huge Christmas get-together for a small celebration with Owens in a hotel where his whole team is situated.

The couple is there because Owens’ contractual obligations state that he should report to his hotel a day before a scheduled game. As his team, the Chicago Bears, plays the Seattle Seahawks on December 26, the couple thus spent Christmas in a hotel room. Simone Biles uploaded a photo of this on her Instagram story where both of them are cozily lying in bed with the gymnast’s feet on top of her husband’s leg. The caption of the story read, “Christmas looks a little different when you’ve got to report to the hotel.”

The gymnast then also uploaded a photo of a gingerbread house, making it clear that the couple were definitely celebrating Christmas, albeit a quiet one. But the gymnast had already spoken about the nature of the celebration in a previous interview with Olympics.com.

When the interviewer asked about her plans for the festival, the gymnast said, “Honestly, just the two of us. Nothing crazy. We’re going on vacations next year, so we kind of didn’t even do a Christmas this year.” She continued, “Honestly, just relaxing. And then we have to come back downtown to report to the hotel. So, we’ll be with the team.” Thus, she was pretty clear about the plan from the start. Maybe it was for the best too, as the couple has had a very busy year with the Olympics and NFL. They would value a quiet time together greatly at this moment.

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owen’s Christmas last year

While Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens get to enjoy a quiet Christmas this year, this was not the case in 2023. Sure, the celebration was pretty quiet as they put on sweet matching pajamas. But they were surrounded by controversy because of the NFL star’s comments a week before the festival. Owens had appeared on the Pivot podcast and talked about how he had no idea who Simone Biles was before he saw her on a dating app. “I’m like, ‘Lemme see who this is.’ I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity.”

He also admitted, “The first thing I saw was that she just had a bunch of [Instagram] followers. So, in my mind, I’m like, ‘Okay, she’s got to be good.’” But his comments after that were what made the gymnast’s fans lose their cool. “I always say that the men are the catch,” he declared. This incited a huge amount of trolling for Jonathan as fans hated his comments.

Thus, the couple’s Christmas last year had a very bittersweet feeling to it. The Chicago Bears’ safety would later gain appreciation from the fans after looking at his constant support for Simone Biles’ career. But it might take a long time for the fans to forget the incident.