Simone Biles Reveals She Has ‘Forbidden Olympic Closet’ in Texas Home Where She Hides Memorabilia From Tokyo Games

Gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles has opened up about the painful mental health breakdown she suffered at the 2020 Tokyo Games—while revealing that she hid all her memorabilia from that ill-fated event inside a “forbidden Olympics closet” at her home in Texas.

Biles, 27, who lives with her husband, NFL pro Jonathan Owens, in a four-bedroom property in Spring, TX, explained that she used one of those rooms to house her Tokyo Olympics gear after returning from the Games, where she was forced to drop out of multiple events while struggling with a condition known as the “twisties.”

The Olympic gold medalist—who has now been named as Sports Illustrated‘s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year—spoke to the outlet about the “little-used” guest room where she hid away her leotards and other items from the 2020 Games, admitting that she would occasionally go in there and pull them all out while “weeping.”

Only, however, when Owens was not in the home.

“I never wanted to see him see me at my weakest point,” she shared. “He put in so much effort and he showed so much support and love. I didn’t want him to think it wasn’t working.”

Having left a large question mark hanging over her career after Tokyo, Biles shut down any and all doubt about her abilities when she returned to the Olympics in Paris 2024, cementing her status as one of the sport’s greatest icons by walking away with a haul of four medals—three of them gold.

And while she has yet to confirm her official retirement, she told Sports Illustrated that she is ready to focus on new challenges, including completing work on a home that she and Owens are building outside of Houston.

The home, which is nearing completion, has been more than a year in the making, with Biles sharing regular updates about the progress on the property on her Instagram account.

Most recently, she shared several stunning images of the waterfront abode, revealing glimpses at the kitchen, swimming pool, and custom laundry room, as well as the expansive three-door garage.

The photos revealed that the swimming pool’s foundation had been laid, the structure was almost complete, and it just needed an overhaul of the surrounding space—as well as some water to fill it with.

Meanwhile, the kitchen appeared incredibly close to its final state, with Biles revealing that that the pair opted for dramatic black-and-white marble for the backsplash and countertops in the space, as well as for the oven hood cover.

A large stove was seen in place in the room, while the cabinets all had their doors and hardware.

The pair will have plenty of room to wash their respective sports gear courtesy of the four washing machines and dryers that occupy an entire wall in their laundry room, which was also been outfitted with white cabinets and a funky patterned tile.

Finally, the three-door garage had been given a new lick of paint, leaving the doors and roof black, while the walls are white—suggesting that the duo is going for something of a monochrome aesthetic throughout the home.

When complete, the two-story home will have a game room, home theater, and a wet bar. A balcony with sliding glass doors will overlook the lake.

It’s close to downtown Houston, the Woodlands Mall, and a golf course.

The home has also been shown on the Netflix series “Simone Biles Rising,” which documented her return to the sport after she withdrew from the 2020 Olympics.

In the series, Biles and Owens are seen checking in on progress at their home, with the former admitting it felt “surreal” to see it come to life.

“It’s a little surreal to walk through and see just how far it’s come,” she said. “Last time you guys saw it, it was just bones and a structure.”

In the meantime, Biles and Owens have been living in the gymnast’s first home, a nearby property she purchased back in 2020.

Located near her childhood home, the house has four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and sits on a spacious 1.02-acre lot, much of which Biles and Owens have taken full advantage of, installing an enormous swimming pool and plenty of outdoor entertaining areas.

It is not yet known whether Biles and Owens plan to put that place on the market when they move into their new mansion, or if the athletic power couple plan to build up a booming property portfolio together.