Simone Biles may have had one of the most successful career trajectories so far, even with her hiccups along the way. Yet, her childhood did not start on a rosy note, and she has often talked about her upbringing openly, particularly her experience in the American foster care system.
In her memoirs, ‘Courage to Soar’, she recalled how she and her three siblings shifted to the foster care system after incidents of neglect. Neighbors spotted a three-year-old Biles, along with her siblings, playing outside the house with no supervision and summoned the Child Protection Services.
The gymnast’s biological mother, Shannon Biles, had a history of substance abuse that eventually led her kids to enter foster care. However, things ended up stable when all four siblings landed in their relatives’ homes. Biles’ grandparents adopted her and her younger sister Adria, while their aunt took in the elder siblings.
Yet, the entire experience had been harrowing for the children, who did not understand what was going on at the time. All they saw was authorities gently taking them away from their home to a safer place. Biles, however, had a feeling of what was about to go down.
“When the social worker piled the four of us into her car, I knew exactly what was going on.”
The silence in the car was heavy, and even at the age of three, the GOAT could tell they all shared the same questions and fears. She recalled her elder sister Ashley holding a young Adria on her lap while the other two tried figuring out if they’d be accepted into a new place.
“I think we were all a little scared, because none of us said a word during the car ride.”
At four, she finally got a new lease on her life, and her grandparents – Ronald and Nellie Biles – took her and Adria in. They pushed her to be athletic and channel her physical energy into sports, and that’s when gymnastics came into play.
Today, fans know her as the GOAT of the sport, nailing every single skill she picks up and adding a twist or two to it. Yet, Biles credits her financial and emotional struggles during childhood for her character development and subsequent success.
