Jono Castano recently took to social media with a veiled remark aimed at his former partner, Simone Holtznagel, following their heated online dispute regarding their co-parenting of daughter Gia.

In an Instagram post on Valentine’s Day, Castano celebrated his relationship with Emily Ryder, his girlfriend of nine months, showering her with compliments that seemed to contrast his past experiences with Simone.

“From our first date at Ezra to our travels around the world, today feels especially meaningful. You’ve stepped into my life, embraced what I hold dear, loved Gia as your own, stood by my family, and supported me through every high and low,” wrote Castano, who owns the Acero gym.

He continued to laud Ryder, a social media influencer, for bringing a sense of “calm, warmth, and love” into his life—an experience he implied was lacking in his previous relationship with Simone.

“From every flight to every memory, every late-night conversation where I can finally speak, and those early 3 a.m. starts, everything has been better with you,” he expressed warmly. “Happy Valentine’s Day. Thank you for loving me, my daughter, and the life we’re building together. I’m grateful for you today and every day.”

This post comes on the heels of a week marked by a public exchange of criticisms between Castano and Simone, who is the mother of his nearly two-year-old daughter, Gia. The pair have been at odds over their co-parenting arrangement and financial responsibilities.

Jono Castano (right) has taken a subtle dig at ex-girlfriend Simone Holtznagel, (left) just days after their brutal online clash over co-parenting their daughter Gia  

The personal trainer took to Instagram on Valentine’s Day with a tribute to his girlfriend-of-nine-months Emily Ryder (left), heaping her with praise – while implying the same could not be said for Simone

Their dispute was sparked when Simone snapped following a supervised visit, revealing to her Instagram followers that Jono had only been paying $40 a week in child support until relatively recently.

Jono has strongly denied Simone’s claims he was underpaying her, sharing evidence of money transfers in the thousands since December.

However, he did acknowledge that, until late last year, he had been paying his ex just $45 a week because they ‘couldn’t agree’ on an amount for child support, adding that Simone had apparently asked for an ‘insane’ sum he couldn’t afford.

Simone’s explosive post, which she shared on her Instagram Stories on Friday, February 6, showed her dancing around her living room with their toddler in her arms – while flipping the bird.

‘My purely hypothetical, calm reaction when my BD [baby daddy] rocks up 45 minutes late to his supervised visit,’ she wrote over the top of the video.

Simone then took a swipe at Jono’s ex–wife and business partner, Amy, and his girlfriend, Emily Ryder, before making claims about his driver’s licence.

‘[Arriving] in his new girlfriend’s car, being driven by his current wife – because neither of them own a vehicle,’ she wrote.

‘This is the same “celebrity trainer” who hasn’t had a consistent licence in four years and only just discovered paying more than $40 a week in child support is a thing.

It comes a week after Jono traded barbs with Simone, the mother of his nearly two-year-old daughter Gia, over their co-parenting arrangement and child support payments 

The pair split in late May 2024, just nine weeks after they welcomed their baby daughter Gia 

‘And then, has the audacity to ask if I’m pregnant because I “have a tummy”. The confidence. The delusion. The absolute lack of self–awareness.’

On Saturday morning, hours after Simone’s post went live and was viewed thousands of times, Jono shared his own rebuttal video to Instagram.

He claimed Simone’s post was full of ‘lies’, before showing screenshots of bank transactions that showed him sending his ex almost $8,500 since December.

However, he did concede he’d been making significantly lower payments before then.

Regarding Simone’s claim that Jono had asked if she was pregnant because of her ‘tummy’, Jono explained what he’d really said was that he was ‘very happy for Gia if you are pregnant’.