These were not my biological children” – When Simone Biles’ mother opened up about struggling to cater emotionally to the gymnast

Simone Biles’ mother Nelie Biles once admitted that it was hard for her to create a natural daughter-mother relationship between them at the start. Nelie and her husband, Ronald Biles, who is Simone’s grandfather, adopted the gymnast when she was six.

Simone’s biological mother, Shanon Biles, struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and was unable to take care of her four children, who struggled for food as well. Shanon’s neighbors had informed the social service, who then sent the children to foster care.

The Biles’ siblings were frequently visited by their grandparents, Nellie and Ronald Biles before they adopted Simone and Adria three years later. The other two siblings, Tevin and Ashley, were adopted by their great-aunt.

While Nelie and Ronald already had a son, Biles Jr., they nonetheless raised Simone and Adria wholeheartedly. However, speaking in an episode of the Facebook Watch Series ‘Simone vs Herself’ in June 2021, Nelie confessed that she struggled to create a natural daughter-mother bond with the children and was unable to give them her all emotionally.

“I knew I had my own barriers because these were not my biological children. You do everything that’s nurturing, that’s mothering but emotionally you still have to be there 100% and I was not,” she said. [16:00 onwards]

She added that she used to pray for that bonding before it eventually happened one day.

“I remember praying for that bonding because telling them that you love them and care for them, that’s all words. But then you wake up one day and you realize that you would do anything for these children and that you would die for these children and when that feeling comes, that’s when you know you’re truly a mother,” Simone Biles’ mother added.

After being adopted by her grandparents, Simone Biles has had little to no contact with her biological mother Shanon Biles. However, Shanon recently expressed the desire to make amends and asked the gymnast to forgive her

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Mail in August 2024, she said:

“I would like to make amends with Simone personally — I’m just waiting for her and [her younger sister] Adria. I speak to Adria more than I speak to Simone. I would just ask her to forgive me. Can we move forward? Don’t judge me on my past. Let’s move forward.”.

While Biles has acknowledged speaking to Shanon occasionally on birthdays and holidays, she has clarified that she held no grudges against her biological mother. Commenting on her relationship with Shanon in her 2016 memoir ‘Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance”, Biles wrote:

Some days, I feel a little bit sad for her. It’s not that I ever wanted to go back to live in Ohio, but I do wish she’d been able to make better decisions when she was younger.”
The eleven-time Olympic medalist further added that she was glad Shanon was working very hard to stay clean.