"Shanon always fed the cat, but never fed us" – When Simone Biles shared how her biological mother’s actions influenced her dislike for cats

Simone Biles once revealed that her biological mother Shanon Biles used to give food to her cat instead of her and her siblings and it resulted in her dislike for cats. She and her husband Jonathan Owens now own two bulldogs - Rambo and Zeus.

Both of Biles' biological parents struggled with alcohol and drug addiction and were unable to take care of their four children, which led to intervention from social welfare which sent the children to foster care.

The Biles siblings spent three years in and out of foster care with frequent visits from grandparents, Ronald and Nellie Biles, who eventually convinced the parents for adoption. Simone and her younger sister Adria were adopted by Ronald while the other two siblings were adopted by their grand aunt.

The 27-year-old opened up about the struggles she faced before adoption during a Facebook Watch series "Simone vs Herself' in 2021 and revealed that she and her siblings didn't get to eat enough food.

“Growing up, me and my siblings were so focused on food because we didn’t have a lot of food,” she said [as quoted by the Guardian].

The seven-time Olympic champion also revealed that her mother, Shanon, used to feed street cats instead of them and it influenced her dislike towards them.

"I remember there was this cat around the house and I would be so hungry. They would feed this cat and I would be like, ‘Where the heck is my food?’ And so I think that’s [why] I don’t like cats … because this freaking street cat, she always fed it. But she never fed us," Simone Biles added.

Biles' life significantly improved after being adopted by Ronald and Nellie, who also enrolled her in an optional training program at Bannon's Gymnastics. The 27-year-old would eventually become arguably the greatest athlete to step on a gymnastics mat.

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"I feel sad for her" - Simone Biles about her relationship with her biological mother following the 2016 Rio Olympics

Cincinnati Bengals v Chicago Bears - Simone Biles in attendance (Source: Getty)

Writing about her relationship with Shanon Biles over a decade after being adopted by her grandparents in her 2016 memoir 'Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance', Simone Biles claimed she had no animosity towards her mother and wished she had not gotten involved with drugs.

"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," she wrote.

The gymnast also expressed happiness over her mother's efforts to stay clean, who recently expressed the desire to reconcile with Biles following her historic success at the 2024 Paris Olympics.