Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles is a legend in her sport. While she was born with an incomparable natural talent for gymnastics, she aways says her parents, Ronald and Nellie Biles, were behind her success. They are technically her biological grandparents, but they adopted Simone at age six after she and her siblings were placed in foster care.“Being separated from my biological mom, being placed in foster care before I officially got adopted by my grandparents, it just set me up for a better route at life,” Simone said of that time on her Facebook Watch series, Simone Vs. Herself. “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.”Who are Ronald and Nellie Biles?The couple was married in January 1977. At the time, Ronald was serving in the Air Force. He met Nellie while stationed in San Antonio, Texas, according to The Undefeated. She was in nursing school. Ronald was already a single father to his daughter, Shannon, who is Simone’s biological mother. The couple went on to have two more children together, sons named Ronald Jr. and Adam.Shannon had four children, including Simone, but she struggled with addiction. The siblings were placed in foster care when the gymnast was about three years old. She and her sister Adria were eventually adopted by their grandparents, and she has said she considers them to simply be her parents. She and Adria were raised in Houston, Texas. Her two other siblings, Tevin and Ashley, were adopted by their great aunt and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.Ronald and Nellie now own training venue World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas, which they opened in 2014. Simone trained there with coach Aimee Boorman. Before they opened the center, she would have to travel from gym to gym according to Boorman’s employment. This made training much easier for the champion.simone biles and jonathan owensAll About Jonathan Owens, Simone Biles’ Husbandartistic gymnastics olympic games paris 2024 day 6Simone Biles Wins the Individual All-AroundWhat has Simone Biles said about foster care?Simone has become an advocate for children in foster care and has shared some painful memories from that time in her life. On Dancing with the Stars, Simone described being “hungry and afraid” during her time in foster care, sharing that visiting her grandparents was always a highlight during those years.“Whenever we had visits with my grandpa, I was so excited,” she said. “That was the person I always wanted to see walk in the foster home.”Nellie spoke on Simone Vs. Herself, sharing a bit about the transition and building up a sense of security for her daughter.“I remember praying for that bonding,” she explained. “Because telling them that you love them and you care for them; that’s all words. But then you wake up one day, and you realize that you would do anything for these children. And that you would die for these children. And when that feeling comes, that’s when you know you are truly a mother.”On Dancing with the Stars, Simone shared, “My parents saved me. 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.”How did Ronald and Nellie help Simone Biles get into gymnastics?Simone visited a gymnasium for a daycare field trip when she was only six, and a coach saw she had some natural talent. They encouraged her to enroll in a class, and Ronald and Nellie signed her up right away. Their daughter loved the sport immediately.“It was history from there,” Nellie said in 2016. “She never missed a practice. Even if she was sick, I would tell her she should stay home, and she would say, ‘No, I have to go to practice!’”They’ve continued to be supportive, through her success and more difficult times during her career. In 2020, Simone withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health after realizing she was not safe taking her gravity defying leaps. Later, she told Brené Brown that not being able to bring them with her due to the COVID-19 pandemic contributed massively to her stress.“We go over to Tokyo, and no audience is allowed. We’re quarantined in our rooms and can only come out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyone expected us to perform in a certain manner. There was no camaraderi
