"She understood God was asking her to open her heart to us" - When Simone Biles recalled how an unknown woman convinced her grandmother to adopt her

Simone Biles once recalled that her grandmother, Nelie Biles, was initially hesitant to adopt her and her siblings before an unknown woman's story of adoption moved her to tears. The 11-time Olympic medalist spent her childhood in foster before being adopted by her grandparents when she was six years old.

Biles' biological parents, Shanon Biles and Kelvin Clemons, struggled with substance abuse, forcing the children to be sent to foster care. They spent the next three years in and out of foster care before Ronald Biles decided to adopt them.

However, Biles' grandmother, Nelie Biles, was hesitant to adopt all four children as she also had two sons to raise. In her memoir, "Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance", Biles recalled the ordeal of her grandmother, writing:

"She needed time to wrap her mind around the idea of doubling the size of her family. She also had to make peace with the fact that her dreams of traveling the world would have to be put on hold."

But in the coming weeks, Nelie happened to talk to a lady at work whom she hadn't known earlier.

"This woman told her a story about adopting a child with extreme physical and emotional needs. At first, the woman had resisted taking responsibility for this child because she didn’t think she was strong enough for the task. But she finally decided to do what God had asked of her. She was so glad that she had, because the child was doing well and had brought such joy to her life," Biles recalled

By the time Nelie got home from work, she had realized the message behind her meeting with that lady. It was also when Biles realized she would stay with her grandparents, whom she dearly calls 'Mom and Dad' now.

"As Grandma was driving home that night, tears flowed down her cheeks. She understood that God was asking her to open her heart to us, and he’d sent that woman as a guardian angel to tell her everything would be okay," she recalled

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Simone Biles's relationship with her biological parents

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

Simone Biles was three years old when she and her three siblings were sent to foster care and the Olympic gymnast has no memories of her first three years of life except playing with a cat. She has rarely spoken of her biological father, Kelvin Clemons, who is also out of the public spotlight. However, she occasionally speaks with her mother, Shanon Biles, mostly on birthdays and holidays.

In her memoir, the 27-year-old wrote she was sad for Shanon's condition and wished she had made better decisions in her younger life.

"I feel a little bit sad for her. I do wish she’d been able to make better decisions when she was younger. I’m glad that she’s now working so hard to stay clean," Simone Biles said.