Simone Biles "broke down" over the backlash aimed at her husband Jonathan Owens.
Simone Biles has defended her husband Jonathan Owens
The Olympian has opened up on her reaction to the very public criticism her sportsman husband faced after a viral interview in which he claimed he "didn't know" who she was when they first started chatting on a dating app.
Addressing the situation in the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, she said: "I thought it was hilarious at first, and then they hurt my feelings.
"And then one night, I broke down and I'm like, 'Why are you guys talking about my husband like this?
"Like, you don't know him. You don't know who he is. And if anybody's met him, they know he's the sweetest guy and will do anything for anybody.'"
Some people even called on her to divorce him, and she admitted comments pushed her to tears.
She added: "That really hurt that they were talking about my husband like that. Because for me, it's like, 'Talk about me all you want, but don't come for my family — never.'
"Because I've been in the limelight long enough where I can brush things off, have my little powwow about it.
"You're not going to know I cried about it, but I be crying about some stuff. But I only cry about it because I can't clap back. Just know that."
In December, Jonathan appeared on 'The Pivot' podcast and recalled the moment they started talking.
He said at the time: "I'm like, 'Lemme see who this is.' I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity.
"The first thing that I saw was that she just had a bunch of [Instagram] followers. So in my mind I'm like, 'Okay, she's gotta be good'.
"I always say that the men are the catch. I'm like, 'It's kinda early [to commit].' But you know, it happens when you least expect it. When we hung out, we just hit it off instantly. Laughed the whole night."
Simone, 27, pointed out that the interviewer Ryan Clark was the one to bring up the "catch" comment, and she thinks the whole debacle was "hyped up".
She said: "By the way, he said it, but Ryan Clark said it so many times. Like, ‘Yeah, so you're saying…' It was kinda hyped up. You know boys, whatever, those conversations.
"They're drinking their little tequila, whatever it is. So I think that was the thing. If it was that girls' moment, it's just different.
"That was like their fireside chat that they're outside, hanging with the boys, whatever. There was nothing foul about it."