Simone Biles Opens Up About 'Forbidden Olympics Closet' in Her Home Where She Cried Over 2020 Gear

Mar. 15, 2025

Simone Biles.Photo:Taylor Hill/WireImage

Simone Biles attends the 2024 CMA Awards at Music City Center on November 20, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Taylor Hill/WireImage

Simone Bilesis opening the doors to her “forbidden” closet.

In her Jan. 2 cover story forSports Illustrated, the Olympian — who the outlet named its 2024 Sportsperson of the Year — revealed that she has a “forbidden Olympics closet” in her home with husbandJonathan Owens,

The “closet,” she explained, is actually an infrequently used guest room, which the couple has turned into a designated space for the Olympic gear Biles has from the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she famouslywithdrew from competition.

Sometimes, when her NFL player husband, 29, was away from home, she would pull out some of the items, such as leotards and Team USA pins, and cry, she toldSports Illustrated.

Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympics.Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty

Gymnast Simone Biles of Team United States gets ready to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Women’s Gymnastics Balance Beam Final at Ariake Gymnastics Center on Tuesday, August 3, 2021. Biles won the bronze medal.

Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty

“I never wanted to see him see me at my weakest point,” Biles said of Owens, who she shares “put in so much effort and he showed so much support and love.”

“I didn’t want him to think it wasn’t working,” she explained.

Getty Images

Gymnastics: 2020 Summer Olympics: USA Simone Biles in action during Women’s Balance Beam Final at Ariake Gymnastics Centre. Biles wins bronze. Tokyo, Japan 8/3/2021

Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, dropped out of the 2020 Olympicsdue to her experience with “twisties”— and the related mental health issues she faced — before making her big comeback at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she pushed through a calf injury to win gold in the team, all-around and vault finals, plus a silver in floor.

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Biles has beentaking her followers along for the home-building ride since September 2023, when she first revealed that the athletes — who hadtied the knotjust a few months earlier — were building a house together.

Carmen Mandato/Getty, Simone Biles/Instagram

Simone Biles Shares a Construction Update on the Home She’s Building with Husband Jonathan Owens

Most recently, the Olympianshared a look at the home’s pool, garage, kitchen and laundry room.

simone Biles/instagram

simone biles happy to be home after olympics instagram 08 12 24

Biles and Owens' in-ground pool, which overlooks a lake, already has a foundation laid out and a three-car garage is also in the works on their property, the photos revealed. Inside the home, meanwhile, the kitchen boastsa gorgeous black-and-white marble countertopand sleek white cabinetry.

source: people.com