After everything that’s happened, Biles’ biological mother was not in any of the festivities. In fact, she was barred from her children’s lives ever since the adoption papers were signed.

In an exclusive interview, Biles’ mother, Shanon, revealed that her father, Ronald, did not allow her to communicate or even visit her children. At the time, Simone was only six when she and her younger sister Adria.

Shanon was suffering from substance abuse and could no longer take care of her children, so they were placed in foster care before ultimately being adopted. “It was hard to give up my kids but I had to do what I had to, I wasn’t able to care for them,” she admitted.

At the time, it was only Shanon raising her four children, as Biles’ biological father left the family while his children were still very young. The kids were often hungry, with Shanon prioritizing the stray cat that roamed around their house when it came to food.

“She always fed it but she never fed us,” Biles recalled. That’s where the gymnast’s dislike for cats came from – because her mom chose to feed a stray cat rather than her children.

When things were too much to bear, neighbors started to grow concerned over the children’s welfare. They contacted social services, and the four Biles children were taken from their mom’s custody.

It was her difficult childhood that motivated Biles to do well in life so she never needed to experience anything like it ever again. While Biles doesn’t remember much about foster care, she does remember being taken from her biological mom, and then thinking they were going to go back to such a difficult situation.

She spent three years in the system, always waiting for her grandfather to come visit. “Whenever we had visits with my grandpa, I was so excited. He was the person I always wanted to see walk in the foster home.

However, her fate changed when her maternal grandparents took her and her younger sister in. Right after her adoption, at the age of six, Biles was introduced to gymnastics.

Robert and Nellie Taught Her Everything

Biles was on a daycare field trip to a gymnasium when she got introduced to the sport that would change her life. She came home with a note from the coaches, who instantly saw something in Biles when she visited.

They encouraged Biles to enroll in gymnastics classes, and Robert and Nellie were happy to oblige. The Olympian credits her parents’ dedication, which allowed her to fulfill her dreams. She’d often write about her parents on social media for everyone to see.

“Thanks for making sacrifices since day 1 so I can live out my dream. But most importantly, thanks for being there for me through all the highs and lows,” Biles said of her parents.

It took a while for Nellie to fully embrace her grandchildren as her own kids. While she did her best to raise them and provide for them, she knew it was different to emotionally embrace them as her own.

When the time came that she realized she’d do anything for Simone and Adria, she knew she was truly a mother. Nellie isn’t related to the Biles sisters by blood, because Shanon was Ronald’s daughter from a previous relationship.