Simone Biles‘ mom and dad, Nellie and Ronald Biles, were “ecstatic” to cheer their daughter on in Paris.
Simone Biles’ parents, Nellie and Ronald Biles, were a constant presence in the audience as the U.S. women competed in gymnastics at the Olympic Games in Paris. When Simone chatted with Hoda Kotb Tuesday morning on TODAY, she credited them with helping her achieve success.
They were “really excited” to be cheering their daughter on in person, Simone said. “They missed Tokyo, so this was like a cherry on top for them. Paris is such a beautiful city, and seeing all the girls compete — and almost the same exact girls as in Tokyo — so they were just, like, ecstatic.”
“You were someone who dreamt of being a gymnast, and you’re here today,” Hoda said to Simone. “So if you had to answer this question: ‘If not for blank, I would not be here today.’ If not for blank … who’s that person?”
“If not for my parents and adoption, I wouldn’t be here today,” Simone responded quickly and sincerely.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, has long credited her mom and her dad with helping her achieve her Olympic dreams. When she was 6 years old, Biles and her younger sister, Adria, were adopted by Ronald Biles, their biological grandfather, and his wife Nellie.
The adoption took place three years after the sisters and their two older siblings were placed in foster care because their mom, who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, was in and out of jail.
Over the years, Biles has expressed her gratitude to her supportive parents for giving her the stability and strength to become a champion.
“Appreciation post for my sweet parents. Thanks for making sacrifices since day 1 so I can live out my dream. But most importantly, thanks for always being there for me through all the highs and lows,” the four-time gold medalist captioned pics of her and her parents on Instagram in June 2021.
Read on to learn more about Simone Biles’ loving relationship with her parents.
Ronald and Nellie Biles were married in 1977
Ronald and Nellie Biles met in San Antonio when Ronald was serving in the Air Force and raising his daughter as a single dad and Nellie was in college, according to a profile in Andscape.
The couple married on Jan. 16, 1977, and welcomed two sons together.
On Jan. 16, 2017, Simone Biles posted a throwback photo of her parents on Instagram in honor of their decades of marriage. “HAPPY 40TH ANNIVERSARY TO MY PARENTS. Couple Goals!”
Simone Biles and her siblings were placed in foster care when she was 3
Simone Biles and her three siblings were placed in foster care when Simone was 3 because their mother, who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, was in and out of jail and could not care for them.
“I don’t remember a lot about foster care, but I definitely knew that we had been taken from our biological mom and then you just think you’re going to go back to her,” Simone Biles said during the 2021 Facebook Watch series “Simone vs. Herself.”
“We were very fortunate that we actually got to stay with our siblings because a lot of the time you either get regrouped from home to home to home or you and your siblings get split up,” added the athlete, who has recalled going without food as a child when she lived with her biological mom.
During her 2017 stint on “Dancing with the Stars,” the superstar gymnast recalled that her spirits would be lifted as a child when her grandfather, Ronald Biles, visited her foster home.
“Whenever we had visits with my grandpa, I was so excited,” the athlete said through tears. “That was the person I always wanted to see walk into the foster home.”
Ronald and Nellie Biles adopted Simone Biles and her younger sister Adria
Ronald and Nellie Biles adopted Simone Biles and her younger sister Adria when Simone was 6, the athlete revealed during the Facebook Watch series.
The sisters moved to Texas to be live with their grandparents, while their two older siblings, Ashley and Tevin, stayed in Ohio where they were adopted by their father’s sister.
While appearing on “DWTS” in 2017, Simone Biles recalled that her parents, who were sitting in the show’s audience, asked her to think of them as Mom and Dad when she moved into their home.
“OK, you know how you called us Grandma and Grandpa? You can call us Mom and Dad now, if you want to,” she recalled Ronald Biles telling her.
Simone Biles called her adoption a ‘turning point’ in her life
The athlete called her adoption a “turning point in her life,” one that “set me up for a better route at life,” during an emotional moment in the 2021 Facebook Watch.
“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,” she explained.
Simone Biles’ parents enrolled her in gymnastics classes when she was young
The seeds for Simone Biles’ Olympic career were planted when her parents enrolled her and her younger sister in gymnastics classes when she was 6.
Nellie Biles told People it “was history from there.”
“She never missed a practice,” said the proud mom. “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 own the gym where Simone Biles trains
The superstar gymnast opened up to Health Magazine for its July/August 2021 issue about how proud she was that her parents owned the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas, the training center where she trained for the Tokyo Olympics.
“Representation matters, and we want to inspire the next generation to pursue their passion,” she said of her parents being Black gym owners.
“Kids can come in and we will be training in the back, and they can see we are just like them. It helps them understand they can do it, too,” she added.
Simone Biles said her parents set ‘huge examples’ for how to treat others
While recalling her adoption story on “DWTS” in 2017, Simone Biles said her parents’ love has guided her in her life.
“My parents saved me,” she said. “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.”
She told viewers that she hoped to express her feelings for her parents when she danced a Viennese Waltz to Chris Tomlin’s “Good Good Father.”
“Even though there’s no right words, maybe a dance will say it for me,” she said before her parents watched her moving performance through tears.
Simone Biles was scared at first to have future husband Jonathan Owens meet her parents
Simone Biles recalled that she hesitated before taking future husband, NFL star Jonathan Owens, to meet her mom and dad.
“Mama Biles, I can’t tell you how scared I was to take him over there,” she recalled during the 2021 Facebook Watch series about her life.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. You know, my parents are a little harsh.’ I was like, ‘So, don’t worry if they don’t like you,’” she added.
Thankfully, it all worked out, and everyone loved Owens.
“Then he met my brother, met my family. And then it just clashed really well, and I was like, ‘Wow.’ Now they invite him over. One time he went over there without me. But, yeah, it’s great,” she said.
Nellie Biles helped her daughter plan her 2023 wedding
Simone Biles revealed to People in January 2023 that her mom was helping her plan her upcoming wedding to Owens.
“She’s someone I can bounce things off of and has been letting me do my thing as I figure out what works for us,” said Biles. “We are so excited to celebrate with our close circle, and she’s a big part of that.”
“My mom gives me advice on everything,” she added. “I look to both her and my dad as role models in many ways, but also as examples of what a strong base of love and support looks like.”
Biles and Owens tied the knot in a small courthouse wedding in April 2023, followed by a larger destination wedding in Mexico one month later.
Nellie Biles supported her daughter’s decision to withdraw from the Tokyo Games
Simone Biles’ withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was, indeed, a shocking turn of events.
Ahead of the gymnast’s return to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Netflix docuseries “Simone Biles Rising” offers viewers a behind-the-scenes glance at the moment Biles called her mom to discuss the decision.
Nellie Biles first said, “You can’t do it. It’s OK, honey,” before going on to say that Team USA would “do their best” without her.
“I don’t want you going out there if you’re not in a good place. You don’t need to go out there and hurt yourself. That’s just not right, okay? You need to take care of yourself,” she continued.
“I love you. Just take some deep breaths and just know that we’re praying for you,” Biles’ mother concluded.
