Simone Biles revealed that she almost died during a recent health scare.
In a concerning Instagram Story shared on Saturday, June 6, Biles posted a photo showing three medical bands on her arm and briefly addressed the situation, though she kept the details vague to protect her privacy.
“I’m not one to normally share things like this because I value privacy in today’s age. But almost dying wasn’t on my bingo card earlier this week,” the Olympian wrote alongside the photo.
“This was one of, if not the scariest, experience of my life. Especially since Jonathan was in Indy for practices. I’ve been in bed resting this week, I’ll explain sooner or later but s/o to my close circle who reached out, checked in, visited & or sent flowers,” she wrote.
The champion gymnast is married to NFL pro Jonathan Owens.
While Biles generally prefers to keep her personal life private, she has been open about health challenges related to her gymnastics career in the past.
At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the athlete dropped out of multiple events due to a bad case of “the twisties,” a condition that commonly affects gymnasts’ performance and mental health. Explaining what this felt like to Alex Cooper on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in 2024, Biles explained, “Your mind and your body are at a disconnect. Your body is going to try to do something, and your mind is going to be like, ‘No, you’re not doing this’” (via TODAY).
She added, “And that’s why I took a step back, because I didn’t want to do something silly out there and get injured.”
Speaking in her 2024 documentary Simone Biles Rising, she said, “Having these mental blocks in the gym recently has not been fun, it’s been scary” (via People). “I’m getting lost on my skills. I just don’t get how It’s like I’m so prepared but I don’t know if I’m overthinking. It’s getting to the point where it’s becoming dangerous because I’m getting lost on all of my floor skills and it’s like it could happen any other time, I don’t get why it’s happening any other time.
“In gym, we call it the twisties. It should be a forbidden word because it sucks to have them for anybody,” she added.
Despite this scary time in her life, Biles was able to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024. She hasn’t yet confirmed whether or not she’ll be headed to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
