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My Husband Made Me Watch His Favorite Show and I Was Shocked to Find I Actually Loved it (Thanks to Simone Biles)

OK, Maybe I Can Get Into Football...

Hard Knocks star Jonathan Owen whispering to wife Simone Biles.
Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Football, I never met her. However, my husband begged me to sit down for the premiere of this season's Hard Knocks, the long-running HBO series that documents pre-season training camp of one NFL team per season. This year, the show is following the Chicago Bears. My hometown team...if I actually cared. “Fine. I'll watch.” I gave in (I was caught up on my Housewives intake.) And to my astonishment, I was pleasantry surprised with the first episode.

See, one of the Bears players is Jonathan Owens who is married to the one and only Simone Biles. And since Hard Knocks is basically the Love Island of American football, it's released with astonishing turnaround. Essentially, last night's episode all happened IRL only last week, which means Owens was heading to Paris to support Biles in her Olympics domination.

In a sweet scene, Owens gets ready to head to the airport, packing a football in his suitcase and FaceTiming with Biles before his flight. He shows her their shared dogs (they have three!) and she advises him on getting to the airport on time and to beware of international liquid carry-on rules—11-time Olympic medalists! They're just like us!

Jonathan Owens FaceTimes Simone Biles on Hard Knocks.
HBO/Hard Knocks

She's got superhuman status, but I also love seeing the human side of Biles's life and how Owens supports her while balancing his own physical and mental workload. Plus, Owens shares just how much of a support he is: He has her floor routine down pat and keeps score of the points as he watches from the sidelines.

As for the beam, he still can't quite comprehend how his wife does anything on that thing, which is basically how I feel about football. But with four more episodes of the season, I'll be tuning in to hopefully catch more Biles with some post-Olympics glow...and er, support the Bears. Go team (USA)!



DaraKatz

Executive Editor

  • Lifestyle editor and writer with a knack for long-form pieces
  • Has more than a decade of experience in digital media and lifestyle content on the page, podcast and on-camera
  • Studied English at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor