Simone Biles And Jonathan Owens Have A Bigger Height Difference Than We Realized
Does height really matter in a relationship? According to one study from Rice University, the answer is yes, with almost half of the women in the survey only wanting to date men taller than themselves (via ScienceDaily). While Simone Biles wasn't part of that study, she definitely falls into the category of women dating taller men. Her husband, Jonathan Owens, a football safety for the Chicago Bears, is just under six feet tall, standing at 5' 11."
The average height for men in the United States is around 5' 9," putting Owens slightly above average. However, in photos of Owens standing next to Biles, he towers over her — much more than someone who isn't even six feet tall typically would. That's because, standing at 4'8", Biles is well below the average height for a female in the U.S., which is 5'4."
Biles and Owens have a 15-inch, or 1' 3", height difference. While there are many red flags and weird things about the couple's relationship, their significant height difference isn't one of them. Height is literally just a number and not something Biles and Owens let get in the way of their love.
Her husband was thrown off by her height when they met
Simone Biles has no issues with her height. Back in 2016, she shared a photo on X (formerly known as Twitter) of her standing back-to-back with fellow Olympian David Lee, who is nearly seven feet tall. He's so tall his head was cropped out in the social media thumbnail. Biles teased that height isn't an issue in athletics as long as you're in the right sport. Although the height difference between Biles and her husband isn't as extreme, it still took some adjusting for Jonathan Owens.
size difference in olympians doesn't matter, depending on what sport you do 😉 6'8" & 4'8" pic.twitter.com/xiU9zIBXJH
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 2, 2016
Owens admitted he was surprised by Biles' height when they first met. On the first episode of "Simone Biles Rising," he said, "She jumped out and she's like all the way down here. I'm like 'oh shoot'" (via The Mirror). Biles then revealed her now-husband was "scared" over her height. Explaining himself, Owens said he had never met someone that short before.
Biles has had a stunning transformation over the years, but her height still seems to be a hot topic for fans. In a video for "Today," Biles shared how tired she was of people always commenting on her height. "The question I wish people would stop asking me is, 'How tall are you? Are you going to grow?'" she said while looking annoyed. As someone who was born in 1997, Biles is definitely done growing. She does see the humor in her small stature, though, joking, "I'm 4' 8", I'm stuck."