"Can’t stand the thought of those kids being scattered to strangers" - When Simone Biles revealed grandfather's initial reaction to foster care news

Simone Biles once opened up about her grandfather, Ronald's initial reaction when he found out about the gymnast and her siblings being sent into foster care. Biles and her siblings, Adria, Ashley, and Tevin, were adopted by Ronald and his wife Nellie after their biological mother Shannon became incapable of providing care for them due to drug and alcohol addiction.

Ronald, who already shared his biological kids, Adam and Ronald Jr., with his wife, wanted his daughter's children to stay together and out of foster care. As soon as he was informed of them being transferred to the foster system, Ronald made arrangements and flew the four siblings to Texas to live with him and his wife.

In her autobiography Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, published in 2016, Biles described the moment and wrote:

"The social worker had called our grandfather to tell him we’d been taken into foster care. When he heard that, he immediately started making calls and talking to lawyers and doing whatever he had to do to arrange for the four of us to move in with him and my grandma."

Simone Biles added about her father's conversation:

"'Nellie,' he’d said to my grandma, 'I want to bring the children here to live with us until Shannon gets herself together. I can’t stand the thought of those kids being scattered to strangers.' Of course, I didn’t know any of this was happening until the day he came to pick us up."

Simone Biles once reflected upon her adoptive parents' love

Simone Biles at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Source: Getty

Simone Biles once reflected on the love she received from her adoptive parents, Ronald and Nellie. They enrolled her in a gymnastics program when she was six years old. As Biles' training turned intense, she opted for homeschooling when her father stepped into the role of tutor.

In her autobiography, Biles highlighted their love for her.

"They both had kind eyes," Biles wrote about Ronald and Nellie. "Before I moved to Texas, they’d come to visit our house in Columbus, Ohio, which was where I lived back then."

She added:

"A few years later, they became the only real parents I’ve ever known—the ones who have raised and guided me, and loved me every day of my life."

Biles' parents also built her an elite-level training facility, the World Champions Center. Throughout her gymnastics journey so far, her parents have almost always accompanied her to all her competitions, including nationals, world championships, and the Olympics.