The four-time Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles is prominently known as the greatest gymnast of all time. She dedicates her success to her parents, Ronald and Nellie Biles who have always supported her throughout her life. The interesting part is they are actually her grandparents who adopted her and her younger sister Adria when Biles was 6 years old.
Simone Biles has always been open about her parents. During an episode of her Facebook Watch series, she said, “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.”
my parents are THE cutest. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9LUbebFUWM
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) October 24, 2019
Her parents, Ronald and Nellie have been the biggest supporters and fans of Biles. And they mean the world to the gymnastics legend. But who are Ronald and Nellie Biles?
Everything about Simone Biles’ parents, Ronald, and Nellie Biles
Simone Biles’ parents Ronald and Nellie Biles met for the first time in 1977, when he was serving in the Air Force, stationed in San Antonia, Texas and Nellie was a nursing student. At that time, Ronald had a daughter, Shannon Biles who is the biological mother of Simone Biles. The couple got married in January 1977 and have two sons, named Ronald Jr. and Adam.
Shannon Biles struggled with drug and alcohol addiction throughout her life due to which, her four children including Biles were sent into foster care. After spending three years there, Biles’ maternal grandparents adopted her and her younger sister Adria and took them to Houston, Texas.
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They are the ones who encouraged Biles to pursue gymnastics when she was impressed while visiting a gymnasium for a daycare field trip. The coaches there recognized her talents and suggested she enroll in the classes, and Ronald and Nellie immediately signed her up.
“They supported me in any way possible. My parents make sure we have everything we need so that we compete to the best of our abilities,” Biles shared in an interview with People.
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Biles shares a very close bond with her parents and it was really hard for her to be separated from them during the pandemic. But the good thing that happened to her during the pandemic was finding her husband, Jonathan Owens.
Her mother Nellie helped Biles plan her wedding with Owens which took place earlier this year in April. Biles shared that she considers her parents as her role model and wishes to have the same love and support in her partner.