"My heart was going out the door with them" - When Simone Biles' adoptive mother recalled gymnast being taken back to foster care

Simone Biles' adoptive mother Nellie once revealed that she was heartbroken after the gymnast and her siblings were taken back to foster care. However, she and her husband Ronald, Simone's grandfather, eventually adopted the children the following year.

Simone's biological parents, Shanon and Kelvin Clemons, struggled with severe alcohol and drug addiction and were unable to take care of their children. When their condition worsened, social services intervened and sent the Biles siblings to foster care.

They were soon taken home by Ronald and Nellie, and just when they had started to build a strong with their soon-to-be adoptive mother, Shanon claimed that she was clean and wanted to take the children back to Ohio.

Nellie found it tough saying goodbye to the children and told Simone a few years later she felt her heart had gone out the door with them. The seven-time Olympic champion recalled Nellie's words in her 2016 memoir, 'Courage to Soar: A Life in Motion, A Life in Balance' and wrote:

"'I’d formed such a bond with the children,' Grandma said years later. 'It was so hard to say good-bye. I remember we were trying to give them all advice about things, especially the older ones, right up until the last minute. My heart was going out the door with them.'"

When Simone and the siblings were taken back to Ohio, they were sent to foster care and Shanon was asked to pass a few back-to-back drug tests. However, she failed for a whole year and the children were then adopted by Nellie and Ronald, who were already parents to two sons.

---

Simone Biles' biological mother Shanon wanted to reunite with her daughter following the 2024 Paris Olympics

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

In a rare interview with Daily Mail last year, Simone Biles' biological mother Shanon claimed that she was clean and wanted to make amends with her daughter. She asked the gymnast to forgive her and requested not to judge her based on her past.

“I would like to make amends with Simone Biles personally. I’m just waiting for her and Adria. 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,” she said.

While Simone Biles, who was fresh off winning four medals, including three golds at the 2024 Paris, has claimed to hold no animosity towards her mother, she hasn't reconciled either yet.