As Simone Biles vaulted and tumbled her way to the top spot at the U.S. Olympic trials, her husband Jonathan Owens cheered from the sidelines. While he had a packed training schedule after signing with the Chicago Bears in March, Owens took the time to support his wife. However, the NFL safety has always made time for his family and this is one of the reasons why the gymnastics icon loves her husband.
Born on July 22nd, 1995, the 26-year-old former Green Bay Packers player grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. The youngest son of Nathan and Arthurine Cannon, Owens, showcased exceptional athletic talent from a young age. Thankfully, he grew up in a household that fostered his talents, allowing him to shine in track and field and football. So who is the NFL star’s family?
Meet Jonathan Owens’ close-knit family
Growing up in the Cannon household, Owens first started showcasing his athletic talents at Christian Brothers College High School. While Simone Biles’ husband ultimately chose to football, he also competed in track and field events. Seeing their child’s innate interest in sports, his father and mother wholeheartedly supported his endeavors. After all, Owen’s father loved sports.
A St. Louis native, Nathan Cannon grew up in his hometown loving basketball. While not much is known about his high school sporting career or profession, Owens’ father did play basketball during high school. On the other hand, while Simone Bile’s mother-in-law didn’t pursue sports, the Memphis, Tennessee native has always supported her son.
Besides supportive parents, Jonathan Owens also has an older sister. 11 older than the NFL star, Owens credits his sister Chanel Bady for helping him fall in love with football. “Happy birthday sis! Who knows where I’d be if you didn’t force me to start playing football,” Owens wrote Simone Biles’ sister-in-law’s birthday in 2018. It seems his sister saw her brother as a footballer even before he did.
Chanel Bady has regularly appeared on Jonathan Owens’ social media. However, very little information is available about the Chicago Bears’ safety’s elder sister. Bady’s Instagram page is set to private. However, she described herself as “wife, boy mom and scrub tech,” on her Instagram profile bio. Bady’s son, who is Owens’ nephew also shares a great relationship with his uncle.
Owens has often posted photographs with his nephew, and his whole family. Unfortunately, the former Arizona Cardinals player’s father didn’t see his son fulfill his NFL dreams. While Nathan Cannon supported his son with unwavering devotion, he tragically died in 2017, before Simone Biles’ husband made his NFL debut.
On August 17, 2017, with two weeks left until his final collegiate season, Owens’ world came crashing down. Nathan Cannon’s body was found in an alley. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that neither the suspect nor any motive could be determined, and declared it as an armed robbery. However, the tragedy only brought the close-knit family even closer. It’s this connection that Owens had with his family that Simone Biles appreciates to this day.
Simone Biles cherishes her mother-in-law
The most decorated gymnast in the world met Owens’ other long before they got married. Thanks to the loving relationship the NFL star shares with his mother, his mom, and then-girlfriend wasted no time getting to know one another. The Biles have are close-knit family themselves and the Olympian quickly developed a great relationship with her in-law.
In May 2022, the star gymnast even went on a vacation with her then-fiance, his mother, and her own mother. On Mother’s Day this year, Simone Biles wished for her mother and her mother-in-law. “Happy mother’s day to the best mother in law. thanks for giving me my best friend for life,” the 7x Olympic gold medalist wrote in her Instagram story. She accompanied the post with a photograph of herself with Arthurine Cannon.
Jonathan Owens grew up in a household with parents and a sibling who loved and supported him. It helped the athlete blossom and taught him to form deep connections with the people in his life. Today the NFL star cares similarly for Simone Biles and his in-laws.
