Simone Biles covers the latest issue of Vanity Fair. My first thought was “oh, so we’re already previewing the Paris Olympics huh.” But Simone actually clarifies in the interview that while she wants a spot on the Olympic team, there are no guarantees and she won’t be devastated if she doesn’t make the cut. That being said, how in the world would US Gymnastics get away with not putting Biles on the team? She’s the most decorated gymnast of all time, and she’s STILL winning medals at world championships. In any case, the cover interview is about Simone’s life, her marriage to Jonathan Owens, learning how to be a football WAG and more. There’s been a lot of conversation recently about Owens and their marriage, but she sounds genuinely happy with him and he sounds very supportive of her. Some highlights from VF:

Winning gold at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships: Biles became the most decorated gymnast in history, winning gold in the individual all-around (her sixth title and the most ever for a woman), gold in the balance beam and floor, and silver in the vault. At 26, she also became the oldest US woman athlete ever to win those medals. “I felt like I was back in my element and it was exciting, but I was truly petrified. I had the training to back it up because we worked really hard, [but] I wasn’t as confident or as comfortable as I wanted to be.”

She started taking gymnastics classes when she was six years old: “Honestly, for gymnastics, that’s kind of late. Most people start in Mommy and Me classes as soon as [they] can walk. I truly was gifted, but I had to work for everything that I’ve had because of that delay… Gymnastics is very expensive, and we’re so blessed that our parents could afford for us to do it.”

Life after the Rio Olympics: “I think everyone wants to be famous, and then when it happens, you almost hit a wall and you have an identity crisis. You’re like, Am I made out for this? Why did I wish for this?… I’m not saying that [people] scream and line up like I’m Taylor Swift, [but] I still get a lot of attention. When five people come up to me and they’re rushing for a photo, I just get a little flustered. My anxiety kicks in.”

Twisties in Tokyo: The criticism was scathing and relentless. And though many came to Biles’s defense, “of course you have all the a–holes that are like, ‘You’re a quitter,’ and they just ran with that.” Predictably, as pundits and trolls declared that the Olympian had selfishly let her country down, others “tried to put me on this pedestal as a mental health advocate. I was not okay with that. If I can be a lending hand and help people, then I’ll be open, honest, and vulnerable but you cannot stick me in front of a crowd and say, ‘Do everything she’s doing.’ ”

Meeting Jonathan Owens: “I had just broken up [with someone] and my friend was like, ‘Get on Raya, get on Raya.’ My guard went straight up when she said dating site,” Biles says, but she matched with Owens the first week she was on the app. “The second week I met him in person and the rest is history. We were hooked.”

Owens on Simone: “She doesn’t like to admit it, but she messaged me first… I just noticed her laugh. It was just contagious. We could talk all day and we’d stayed up late, and there just wasn’t an awkward moment.” Owens knew immediately that he liked Biles, but I ask, did he know he was falling for the greatest gymnast of all time? “A lot of people don’t believe me when I say I had no clue,” he insists.

Speaking out about Larry Nassar: “I wish everybody could have the outlets and the platforms and the confidence to speak out. Sometimes I’m speaking not only for myself, but I’m being a voice for others that can’t.” Biles believes that USA Gymnastics has been moving in a positive direction. “When something like that happens, it obviously turns everything completely upside down. And then they make some of the rules so strict that it almost makes it hard for anybody to do their job. But I think their intentions are there.”

Life after Tokyo: “I wish I could sit here and tell you it was glorious. When I took a break after 2016, I had the time of my life. I was doing anything and everything. But after 2020, it was kind of depressing until I started therapy and got help. I felt like a failure. Even though I was empowering so many people and speaking out about mental health, every time I talked about my experience in Tokyo—because it obviously didn’t go the way that I had planned—it stung a little bit. But all in all, it was the best decision.”

She’s been on Lexapro for years: “I’ve always been in therapy [and] I’ve always been an advocate for medicine,” she says, adding that her mother, Nellie, is a nurse, and medication has never been stigmatized in her family. “If you need an inhaler, take it. If you have anxiety, take it. I’m no stranger to medicine.”

Her wedding: “We could have had so many more people, but we really wanted to make it as intimate and as special as possible…I’ve never had so much fun in my life. I was 19 when I won my first Olympics, and I was like, How am I supposed to top this? My wedding topped it. It was the greatest feeling ever.”

[From Vanity Fair]

She also said that she didn’t meet up with Taylor Swift when the Packers played the Chiefs, and she hilariously suggested that Taylor probably didn’t want to meet her because the Packers won. For as much sh-t as Jonathan got for not knowing who Simone was when they started dating, it actually doesn’t sound like Simone is really into football that much. She supports Jonathan, obviously, but it feels like she could take or leave football in general. Anyway, I hope she makes the team this year and I hope she kills it in Paris.

Cover courtesy of Vanity Fair, additional photos courtesy of Avalon Red.