Simone Biles explains why she and her siblings were sent to foster care - "You didn't know if there was gonna be food on the table"

In the Netflix docuseries, Simone Biles Rising, the Olympian shared about her childhood struggles when she and her siblings didn't know whether there would be food served, since their biological mother suffered from substance abuse. The Netflix series hit the OTT screen on July 17, 2024, with the first two episodes streaming now.

Simone Biles, inarguably the most decorated gymnast in history, will make an entry at the third Olympiad in Paris. Her repertoire boasts of four golds and three other podiums from the Games. She boasts 37 medals across the World Championships and Olympics. Behind the impressive resume is a traumatic past that continued to bother Biles until her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics, citing 'twisties'.

In 2017, she shared via People that she 'never had a mom to run to' and would be the most excited for her grandfather (now father) to visit them at foster care. Biles and her sister, Adria Biles, landed in foster care when the former was three years old since their mother struggled with drug and substance abuse.

In the recent docuseries, Simone Biles Rising, the Olympian shared how the siblings didn't know if food would be served at the table during their stay with their biological mother, Shannon Biles.

"Adria was a baby. I’m two, three years old. There were a lot of times where you didn’t know what was gonna happen, where you were gonna end up, if there was gonna be food on the table. You didn’t know if mother was going to come back home. And you’re so young, so you don’t know how to process that either," shared Biles in the series.

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Simone Biles' adoptive parents encouraged her talent from the beginning

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics - Day 4 (Source: GETTY)

Biles and her sister were adopted by their biological grandparents, Nellie and Ron Biles, after living in foster care for six to nine months. In episode two of Biles' docuseries, Nellie Biles shared how 'grandma' to 'mom' was a 'powerful' transition. Biles also once revealed that she wouldn't be the Simone Biles that the world knows, had it not been for her parents. She expressed heartfelt gratitude to Nellie and Ron Biles for giving her life a second chance.

"I feel like I wouldn't be where I am unless that turning point happened. I would still be Simone Biles, probably not Simone Biles that everybody else knows, the world knows. But I also believe everything happens for a reason and I'm forever grateful for that because I definitely got a second shot at life," Biles said. (via People)

When the Olympian's former coach, Aimee Boorman, parted, her mother thought it would be tough for her to continue training. So, Nellie Biles built the World Champions Center where the most decorated gymnast currently trains.