"It was the closest thing to death without harming myself" - When Simone Biles opened up on 'sleeping too much' after moving out of parents' house

Simone Biles once revealed that she fell into depression after moving out of her parent's house to live on her own. The gymnast was adopted by her grandparents, Ronald and Nelie Biles when she was six years old.

Simone's biological parents, Shanon Biles, and Kelvin Clemons, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction to the point that their children even struggled for food. The Biles siblings were taken to foster care after intervention by foster care, and they would spend their next three years in and out.

Ronald and Nelie adopted the two younger siblings, Simone and Adria, while the other children were adopted by their great-aunt. Biles would spend the rest of her life in Houston, Texas with her grandparents before moving out as part of the adulting process in the summer of 2017.

However, Biles, 20 at the time, suffered from depression after moving into her own place. Speaking about what was the beginning of an "adulting" process, in an interview with Vogue in 2020, she said:

"I was very depressed. At one point I slept so much because, for me, it was the closest thing to death without harming myself. It was an escape from all of my thoughts, from the world, from what I was dealing with. It was a really dark time."

Part of Biles' depression was also due to the Larry Nassar controversy, which had unfolded earlier that year. While the seven-time Olympic champion initially felt she wasn't abused by the incarcerated USA Gymnastics doctor, she would realize it later and speak out publicly regarding the same.

Such was her impact that the USA Gymnastics would immediately cut off their ties with the Karolyi Ranch, which had served as the national training camp for over a decade. The 27-year-old now lives in Chicago with her husband Jonathan Owens, who plays as a safety for the NFL's Chicago Bears.

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Simone Biles became the oldest gymnast in 75 years to win the all-around title in 2024

Minnesota Vikings v Chicago Bears - Simone Biles in attendance (Source: Getty)

While Simone Biles' Olympic campaign at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics went haywire due to twisties, a mental health problem, she made an incredible comeback at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old won four medals including three golds to become the most decorated American gymnast in history.

After her withdrawal from the team finals in Tokyo had resulted in Team USA losing the women's gymnastics crown, she led them to redemption in Paris with a breathtaking performance.

Simone Biles moved to all-around finals afterward, and yet another dominant performance meant she was the oldest gymnast in 75 years, the second oldest in history, to win the title. She won another gold medal in the vault competition and finished her comeback with a silver medal in floor exercise finals.