"I never had mom to run to, I do remember always being hungry and afraid" - When Simone Biles opened up on her early life and subsequent adoption

Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast in history, is currently preparing to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Over the course of a successful career so far, she has had her fair share of ups and downs, challenges during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and struggles with mental health. Biles also had a challenging childhood.

On a 2017 episode of the show Dancing With the Stars, the star gymnast revealed that she was adopted. She shared that she entered foster care at just three years of age as her biological mom was suffering from drug and alcohol abuse.

"Growing up, my biological mom was suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and she was in and out of jail."

Biles, 26, added:

"I never had mom to run to. I do remember always being hungry and afraid."

The Olympic gold medalist stated that the people she refers to as her parents are her maternal grandfather Ronald and his wife Nellie. Biles said she was always excited to visit her grandparents and that her grandfather once told her:

"Ok, you know how you called us Grandma and Grandpa? You can call us Mom and Dad now, if you want to."

Biles concluded:

"They've set huge examples of how to treat other people, and they've been there to support me since day one. There's nothing I could say to them to thank them enough."

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Simone Biles inspired actress Drew Barrymore to reinvent herself

Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympics

Simone Biles took a break after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to focus on herself and her mental health. She said at a press conference that she felt it would be better for her to take a step back:

"I just felt like it would be a little better to take a backseat to work on my mindfulness, and I knew that the girls would do an absolutely great job."

Biles, the first African-American to be a world all-around champion, said she didn't want to put the team at risk of not winning a medal.

"I didn't want to risk the team a medal for kind of my screw-ups because they've worked way too hard for that. So, I just decided that those girls need to go in and do the rest the competition."

Earlier this week, actress Drew Barrymore told Us Weekly that she has been a struggling mom trying to let go off work to focus on her home and kids. She said:

"I wrote a book. I started a beauty brand. I thought that if I had something that challenged me, I would be a better parent. But I still wanted to be a parent that could be home all the time."

The Charlie's Angels actress shared that Biles withdrawing from a competition at the Tokyo Olympics became a turning point for her. Barrymore said:

"When Simone Biles came out and said, 'I'm not getting on that balance beam,' it hit me so hard that in this world, we sometimes don't know when to stop running. We don't think that we can opt out."