Simone Biles had to overcome a tragic past to become the GOAT that she is today. Her biological mother, Shanon Biles, left her with some traumatic childhood memories but is now desperate to connect with the gymnast.
Shanon had to watch from afar as Simone added three gold medals to her collection at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also didn’t get to tell the Olympic champ how she felt about her accomplishments, but it’s something she would like to do. “I want to let her know I love her and I’m very proud of her,” she told the Daily Mail. In a 2021 interview with USA Today, Simone revealed that she wasn’t interested in getting to know her bio parents. “I never really cared to find out who my biological father was, or really gain a close relationship with my biological mom,” she said. “Which I’m sure she probably wanted.”
Simone was right about Shanon, who struggled to care for her four children when Simone was a toddler. She had addiction issues and was frequently in trouble with the law, so Simone and her siblings were eventually placed in foster care. The children’s fortunes changed when family members agreed to adopt them. Simone and her younger sister, Adria Biles, moved from Ohio to Texas to live with Shanon’s father, Ron Biles, and his wife, Nellie Biles. For Simone, Nellie and Ron are mom and dad. Shanon has accepted this but is making a heart-wrenching entreaty to Simone to reach out to her.
Shanon Biles says that she’s a different woman now
Shanon Biles told the Daily Mail that she would beg her daughter for her forgiveness if she could. She and Simone Biles have spoken on occasion and Shanon does have the athlete’s phone number, but she’s leaving it up to Simone to decide when she’s ready to have a heart-to-heart about the painful past. It also sounds like Shanon doesn’t want to miss out on any more of the happy moments her family has celebrated with Simone. “She’s 27 now. She’s married. I would have liked to have been a part of that, but I just have to wait for her. You can’t push anybody,” she said.
Shanon revealed that she’s sober now, but she did have another brush with the law in 2020 when she was arrested for assault. “I’m not the person I used to be. I’m okay, today,” she said. “I’m a loving person.” Shanon added that she had been employed as a grocery store cashier, but health problems were preventing her from working at the time of her interview.
Simone’s participation in the Olympics always piques the public’s interest in her bio mom. Unfortunately for Shanon, she’s sometimes portrayed as nothing more than the adversity that the seven-time Olympic gold medalist had to overcome to achieve greatness. Shanon also didn’t like the way her dad talked about her drug problems during the Rio Games in 2016. “He could have been more classy about it,” she told TMZ.
Simone Biles’ memories of life with Shanon Biles are bleak
In a 2016 interview with the Daily Mail, Shanon Biles said that the few conversations she’s had with her daughter were always far too brief for her to say everything on her mind. “I want to tell her what really happened when I was younger but I keep on waiting for the right time,” she shared. After that interview, two more Olympic Games would come and go without her getting her wish.
Even if Shanon were to get the opportunity to plead her case to Simone, it wouldn’t erase the hurtful memories her daughter has of being neglected and malnourished. “I’d be so hungry. They would feed this cat, and I’m like, ‘Where the heck is my food?’ … She always fed it, but she never fed us,” Simone recalled on the Facebook Watch series “Simone vs. Herself.”
In Ron and Nellie Biles, Simone found two people willing to upend their own lives to make sure that she grew up healthy and content. Shanon told the Daily Mail that she was frustrated during those early years because Ron wouldn’t let her see her daughters. However, she was still doing drugs, and her dad wanted to provide the girls with a stable environment. Growing up, Simone never yearned to have a relationship with her bio parents like some adopted children do. “They feel kind of that void,” she told USA Today. “But I never did.”
