“They… Beat Each Other”: Simone Biles Resented Ex-boyfriend’s Idea of Joining WWE

Gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles got engaged to NFL player Jonathan Owens earlier this year after two years of dating. The two met via the dating app Raya in 2020, and even though Owens didn’t know of her illustrious career at first, they began dating shortly.

But Biles’ relationship with Owens isn’t her first with another athlete. Before she met the Houston Texans safety, she dated fellow gymnast Stacey Ervin Jr., who went to star in the WWE circuit. 

Simone Biles didn’t agree with her ex-boyfriend’s decision

Stacey Ervin Jr. used to be a competitive gymnast, joining the University of Michigan’s NCAA champion team. But after graduation, he started working for Oracle as a customer success manager in Austin, Texas. Eventually, he found his way back to gymnastics and, through the same opportunity, met Simone Biles.

The Olympic champion’s mother, Nellie Biles, hired Stacey as a coach at their gym in 2017, shortly after which they started dating. When Stacey told Biles of his intention to join the WWE, the gymnast had an immediate reaction. “Before really knowing what it was or anything, I automatically said no,” Biles said. 

Eventually, however, she came around to the idea. “[Later] I was like, actually, that would be pretty cool. I would always watch like ‘Total Divas’ and that all the time. So I was kind of a little bit familiar with it, but not the guys’ side, I guess.” She reasoned that WWE wouldn’t pose as much bodily harm to her boyfriend as other combat sports.

READ MORE: “My Mom Would Threaten to Pull Me Out”: Simone Biles’ Coach Once Saved Her From Mother’s Wrath Despite Her Bratty Behavior

“I thought they, like, beat each other up. They do, but it’s in kind of a safer way. It’s not like UFC. You’re not trying to kill them. This is to entertain,” she concluded. So she jumped on the bandwagon and kept her eyes peeled for any opportunity.

Biles helped Ervin in securing a tryout

In September 2017, Simone Biles attended a benefit for The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis in New York. Here, she happened across Paul Levesque, or “Triple H”, an executive for WWE, and his wife, Stephanie McMahon.

Recognizing an opportunity when she sees one, she asked her then-boyfriend if she should approach the couple. Despite receiving a denial from Ervin, the gymnastics legend started a conversation. “I’m like, it’s too late, Stacey. I’m already talking to them,” she said.

Biles, who succeeds in most of her endeavors, managed to bag her boyfriend a spot at tryouts. “Then I started showing him pictures of Stacey. He said, well we have these open tryouts. Here’s a card,” she narrated. Subsequently, Ervin tried out in February 2018 and quickly signed with WWE’s developmental NXT promotion.

WATCH THIS STORY: Olympic legends Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, and Katie Ledecky hangout with gold medals around their neck

Unfortunately, his career ended just a year later in 2019, making his last appearance during the March 8 house show in which he defeated Daniel Vidot. Ervin and Biles separated in 2020.