"I feel sad for her..wish she'd been able to make better decisions" - When Simone Biles opened up about her relationship with her biological mother

In her memoir published in 2016, Simone Biles opened up about her relationship with her biological mother, Shanon Biles, claiming that they only talked on birthdays and holidays. The eight-time Olympic champion was sent to foster care when she was three and later adopted by her grandparents, Ronald and Nelie Biles.

Simone Biles was born in Ohio, United States in March 1997 to parents Shanon and Kelvin Clemons, and was the third child of her parents. However, Shanon and Kelvin struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, causing the four children to be sent to foster care.

After spending nearly three years in and out of foster care, Simone and her younger sister, Adria were adopted by their grandparents Ronald and Nelie, while the other two of Biles' siblings were adopted by their great aunt. While the eleven-time Olympic champion doesn't remember anything from her childhood with her biological parents, she once wished her mother Shanon had made the right decisions in her younger life.

Biles opened up about her relationship with her biological in her memoir, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, a Life in Balance, published in 2016. The 27-year-old claimed that she and her sister Adria only talked to her on birthdays and holidays.

"Shanon still calls Adria and me on birthdays and holidays, but we don’t have much contact beyond that. 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," Simone Biles wrote

She also added that she was glad after learning that Shanon was trying to become clean now.

"I’m glad that she’s now working so hard to stay clean. Every now and then, I think about how my life might’ve been different if Shanon had been able to keep us with her. If I’d stayed in Ohio, would I have ever gotten into gymnastics? Probably so, because I truly believe I was supposed to take this journey, which means God would have made a way," Simone Biles added.

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Simone Biles' biological mother expressed the desire to reunite with the Olympic champion

Gymnastics during the Paris 2024 Olympics- Simone Biles waiting for her routine (Source: Getty)

In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail in August this year, Shanon Biles expressed her desire to reunite with her daughters, Adria and Simone Biles. She said she was waiting for them to speak to her, and when they would do, she would ask them for forgiveness.

"I would like to make amends with Simone personally. I’m just waiting for her and Adria [Biles]. 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,” Shanon told DailyMail.

Shanon further revealed that she had also thrown a party following the American gymnast's successful Paris Olympics campaign, which saw US women's team clinch three gold medals and one silver medal.