Who Are Simone Biles Parents? She Was Adopted at the Age of 6

Seven times Olympic medalist Simone Biles’ success story on the global stage is well known across the globe after her heroics at the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, before all that success, challenging and sad moments initially led her into foster care and later to her adoption.

Simone’s exploits in gymnastics have led to many calling her the greatest of all time. Along with her impressive Olympics tally, she also holds the record for the most World Championship medals. Although Simone is the main character in her success story, much credit should also be given to her grandparents.

Simone’s grandfather, Ron Biles, and wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles, played a massive role in helping Simone pursue and ultimately achieve her dreams of being a top gymnast. The duo adopted the future superstar and her little sister, Adria Biles, after their mother, Shanon Biles, failed to take care of them and their two older siblings.

Who’s Simone Biles’ Biological Mother?

Shanon gave birth to the future gymnastics royalty, Simone, in Columbus, Ohio, on March 14, 1997. Simone is the third of her mother’s six children. However, when they were still just four children, Shanon developed a

drug addiction

problem, leading to her inability to take care of her children.

When Simone was still a toddler, she was put into foster care along with her siblings, Ashley, Tevin, and Adria. After learning of his grandchildren’s situation, Shanon’s father, Ron, decided to remove them from foster care. He and his wife, Nellie, adopted the children and became their legal guardians.

From that point, Ron took the difficult but necessary decision to bar her daughter from seeing her children until she got sober. Shanon did not see her kids for six years. In the years leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, she claimed that she had been sober since 2007 and taking steps to reconcile with her kids.

Simone Was Adopted at 6 by Her Grandparents

Due to her parent’s difficulties with drugs, Simone and her siblings were put into foster care. Simone was three years old at the time. Upon learning of his grandchildren’s unfortunate circumstances, Ron would visit them frequently, which brought much excitement to Simone every time he visited. She tearfully recounted:

“Whenever we had visits with my grandpa, I was so excited. That was the person I always wanted to see walk into the foster home.”

After three years in and out of foster care, Ron and Nellie adopted Shanon’s youngest children, Simone and Adria, while Ron’s sister adopted Tevin and Ashley. According to Biles, her grandparents broke the news of adoption to them by telling them that they could now call them mom and dad.

Simone Biles’ Mother Opens up about the Challenges of Adoption

Becoming

Simone Biles

‘ mother was not as easy as it may sound for Nellie. There were some barriers to her mothering Simone and Adria as she was not their biological mother. Not only that, she was not even their mother’s mother.

Therefore it was a complicated task for her to be their mother. An emotional Nellie explained, “you do everything that’s maturing, that’s mothering, but emotionally you still have to be there 100 percent, and I was not.”

She recalled that she had to pray about their bonding, and in those days, all Nellie could do was tell them that she loved them and cared for them. Still, it seems she still felt she could do more for her adopted children.

During the interview, she explained further how she later realized that she was willing to do anything for Simone and Adria, even die for them. From that moment of realization, she knew she was truly their mother. Nellie’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Simone adores her and acknowledges that she taught her the meaning of love through her selfless acts.

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