Simone Biles is opening up about her upbringing.
In the latest episode of her Facebook Watch series, Simone Vs. Herself, the 24-year-old Olympic gymnast spoke candidly about her biological mother and the challenges she and her siblings faced after they were placed in foster care.
In the episode, aptly titled “Who Am I?,” Biles recalled how her birth mother couldn’t care for her and her three siblings. “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,” she said.
“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,” the star continued.
According to Biles’ grandmother Nellie, her birth mother was “doing a lot of drinking and drugs” at the time, which prompted social workers to take action and remove Biles and her siblings after neighbors had expressed their concerns.
During the candid episode, Biles also recalled a time when she and her siblings were focused on finding food.
“Growing up, me and my siblings were so focused on food because we didn’t have a lot of food,” she said. “I remember there was this cat around the house and I’d be so hungry. They would feed this cat and I’m like, ‘Where the heck is my food?’ “
Biles added, “And so I think that’s where it stemmed where I don’t like cats is because this frickin’ street cat, she always fed it, but she never fed us.”
When Biles was 6 years old, she and her younger sister Adria were adopted by grandparents Nellie and Ron, while older siblings Ashley and Tevin were adopted by an aunt in Ohio.
Biles said being removed from her biological mother and later adopted by her grandparents, gave her a “second shot” in life, adding, “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.”
The athlete continued, “And 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.”
Elsewhere in the third episode of the Facebook Watch series, Biles also opened up about life with boyfriend Jonathan Owens by her side.
Biles called her NFL beau, 25, “absolutely amazing” as her coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi also noted: “When you’re happy in your outside life, then you’re a lot happier in what you have to do and you can totally see it. She got her house and has a great boyfriend who is very supportive, who is pushing her to the best she can be as well. I think the whole thing all came together and she feels like, okay I’m not alone I have the support that I need. You can see it, she’s different.”
In the episode, Owens, whom Biles met on Raya, also applauded his girlfriend’s work ethic and how she’s the “real deal.”
“Her work ethic was the first thing that caught my eye. I’d never watch gymnastics before, when I first met I honestly didn’t know who she was. … The coolest thing for me is that I get to witness someone who is literally at the pinnacle of their sport, it’s motivating just to see that and the impact that she has on people,” he said.
“We vibe on the same level, we have the same kind of humor. We’re both athletic, we’re both elite athletes so definitely get each other. It was like it was meant to be. Everybody loves him, even my family so that was nice,” Biles said, who also shared that she was “scared” at first to introduce him to her mother.
