Almost dying wasn't on my bingo card this week
Simone Biles, one of the most celebrated athletes of her generation, revealed this week that she had been hospitalized following a medical emergency she described as among the most terrifying experiences of her life. She shared the news with characteristic honesty and dark humor, offering no clinical details but making clear the gravity of what had occurred. The incident unfolded while her husband was away for professional obligations, a reminder that even lives lived at the highest levels of achievement are subject to the sudden, indiscriminate intrusions of human fragility.
- Biles posted from what appeared to be a hospital bed, describing the experience as 'almost dying' — words that stopped her millions of followers cold.
- Her husband Jonathan Owens was in Indianapolis for NFL preseason practices, unable to be at her side during the emergency, leaving her to navigate the ordeal largely alone.
- She spent the week confined to bed rest after discharge, sharing her elevated resting heart rate as quiet evidence of how serious the situation had been.
- Friends, family, and her inner circle rallied around her with calls, visits, and flowers — the informal infrastructure of care stepping in where proximity could not.
- Biles has promised to share more about what happened, but for now the details remain private, held close until she feels ready to release them.
On Saturday, June 6, Simone Biles posted to Instagram from what looked like a hospital bed, plastic patient bracelets visible on her wrists. She was 29, one of the most decorated gymnasts in history, and she had just come through something she could only describe as nearly fatal. "Almost dying wasn't on my bingo card this week," she wrote — dark humor wrapped around genuine fear. She offered no diagnosis, no symptoms, no clinical explanation. Only the weight of the experience itself.
What made it harder was the solitude. Her husband, Jonathan Owens, was in Indianapolis preparing for the NFL preseason with the Colts, unable to be present while his wife lay in a hospital bed hundreds of miles away. After her discharge, Biles spent the week recovering at home, confined to bed rest, sharing glimpses of her resting heart rate with followers as a quiet signal of how serious things had been.
The couple had met in 2020, married in 2023, and by all accounts built a life grounded in mutual support — small rituals, shared routines, showing up for each other's work. Owens had spoken warmly about attending her meets and credited her with making him a better athlete. But this week, that closeness was simply impossible. He had not publicly addressed the emergency, and she had not elaborated on its cause.
Instead, Biles turned to her wider circle — thanking those who called, visited, and sent flowers, the bright bouquets appearing across her Instagram Stories like small acts of witness. She promised to explain what had happened eventually. For now, the specifics remain known only to her medical team and the people closest to her, held in reserve until she is ready to give them words.
Simone Biles posted to Instagram on Saturday, June 6, from what appeared to be a hospital bed, her wrists circled with the plastic bracelets that mark a patient's stay. She was 29 years old, one of the most decorated gymnasts in history, and she had just survived something she described as nearly fatal. "Almost dying wasn't on my bingo card this week," she wrote alongside a selfie, her tone mixing dark humor with genuine shaken-ness. She did not say what had happened. She did not name the condition, did not explain the symptoms, did not offer the clinical details that might have satisfied curiosity. She only said it was terrifying—"one of, if not the, scariest experience of my life."
What made the ordeal harder was that she had been alone through it. Her husband, Jonathan Owens, was in Indianapolis for preseason practices with the NFL's Colts. He was 30, a safety who had played for several teams over his career, and he was preparing for the upcoming season while his wife lay in a hospital bed three states away. Biles spent the week recovering at home after discharge, confined to bed rest, watching the monitor that tracked her resting heart rate—a number she later shared with her followers as evidence of her condition's seriousness.
The couple had been together since 2020, meeting through Raya, the exclusive dating app designed for celebrities and high-net-worth individuals. They had married in 2023 after three years of dating, and by all public accounts had built something genuinely supportive. Owens had spoken to Us Weekly the previous summer about attending her gymnastics meets, describing the dynamic with evident affection. "You get a different type of focus whenever you just have this one person that you're focusing on," he had said. He credited her with making him a better athlete—"I've played a lot better since meeting Simone," he told the magazine. Their life together seemed to revolve around small, grounding rituals: talking about their days, playing with their dogs, showing up for each other's work.
But this week, that presence was impossible. Owens had not publicly addressed the health scare, and Biles did not elaborate on what had sent her to the hospital. Instead, she thanked her inner circle—the people who had called, visited, sent flowers. Photos of floral arrangements appeared on her Instagram Stories, bright bouquets arranged on surfaces around her recovery space. She promised to explain what had happened eventually, but not yet. The specifics remained locked away, known only to her medical team and the people closest to her.
Owens had signed with the Colts in March, joining the team after previous stints with the Texans, Packers, and Bears. He was in the middle of his professional season when his wife's medical emergency occurred, caught between the demands of his job and the need to be present for her. The timing was cruel in the way timing often is—not malicious, just the collision of two separate lives trying to exist in the same marriage. Biles was home now, resting, recovering from something she had almost not survived. Owens was in Indianapolis, practicing, waiting for more information, unable to be there in the way either of them would have wanted. The story of what had happened remained untold, and Biles had made clear it would stay that way until she was ready to share it.
Notable Quotes
Almost dying wasn't on my bingo card this week. This was one of, if not the, scariest experience of my life.— Simone Biles, via Instagram Stories
You get a different type of focus whenever you just have this one person that you're focusing on.— Jonathan Owens, on attending Biles' gymnastics meets
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why do you think she posted about it at all, if she wasn't going to explain what happened?
Because silence can feel like drowning. You survive something that nearly kills you, and you need people to know you're still here. The specifics can wait.
But doesn't that create more questions than answers? Doesn't it worry people?
Maybe. But it also sets a boundary. She's saying: I'm alive, I'm recovering, and the details are mine to share when I'm ready. That's actually a form of control.
Jonathan was gone. That seems like the part that would break you—not just the medical emergency, but being alone through it.
Yes. And she named it. She didn't hide that he was in Indianapolis. She let people know that the scariest moment of her life happened without him there. That's honest.
Do you think he felt guilty?
Almost certainly. But he also couldn't have known. He was doing his job. She was doing what she needed to do to survive. Sometimes that's just how it goes.
What happens next?
She recovers. She rests. And eventually, when she's ready, she tells the story. Or she doesn't. Either way, she gets to decide.