In her earlier years, Simone Biles had to go through a great deal of adversity before she could become the famed gymnast that she is today. After their initial mother was found to be unable to properly raise them, she and her siblings were placed in the care of a foster family.
Even after twenty years have passed, the memories of Biles’ time spent in foster care are still very clear in her head. She would keep herself busy by playing in the outdoors, working hard on her homework, and conversing with her older brothers via the vents in the walls as they slept in their own rooms.
In the middle of the night, she would also go into her brother’s room without his permission to check on him. She was afraid that when she woke up in the morning, she would discover that her brother had been taken away and placed in another foster family.
These days, Biles gives her time as a volunteer to support children in the foster care system with school materials and clothing. individuals may see this as a PR gimmick; nevertheless, for the gymnast, who has firsthand experience of what it’s like to be one of those individuals, it goes much further than that. Once, she said that
“I have been in your shoes, and I know exactly how you feel. I have experienced everything that you have.” They can rely on me to speak on their behalf. I am able to assist them, and I can reassure them that they are not alone and that everything will turn out all right.
She is actively interested in the Mattress Firm Foster Kids initiative, which is a program that organizes six drives each year to collect goods that might be of assistance to foster children and families. The program has ties to 115 charitable groups spread out over 40 of the United States’ states.
Biles, who is now 26 years old, has won a staggering 32 Olympic and world medals, tying the record held by Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina. Biles is tied for first place with Shannon Miller as the most successful gymnast to ever represent the United States in the Olympic competition.
Biles is unwavering in her assertion that she is not the “next” anything, even when she is compared to other athletes. “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps – I’m the first Simone Biles,” she would tell people.
And at the age of 26, Biles has shown that she deserves her place as one of the best athletes in the world. She is one of the best gymnasts the world has ever seen, and she shows no signs of slowing down any time in the near future.
Biles initially came to the attention of people all around the globe in 2013 when, at the age of just 16, she won two gold medals at the Globe Championships. After that, she went on to win four golds in 2014 and then another four golds in the following year, 2015.
Biles has decided to put her gymnastics career on pause for the time being after she stunned the world with her superb professional career. She had recently tied the knot with her lover, Jonathan Owens, in a low-key ceremony at the courthouse.
The charming individuals first connected and started dating one another via the use of the dating app Raya. They announced their engagement on Valentine’s Day 2022, when Owens proposed by getting down on one knee while holding a 3-carat diamond.
She decided against spending a lot of money on her wedding dress and instead went with a simple white dress with tiers that can be purchased for about $120. The heels that she wore to the court wedding could only be purchased for $35, a significant discount from the original selling price of $58.
A high ponytail, drop earrings, and a necklace with a pendant that matched her earrings completed the outfit that the champion gymnast went for. Her understated demeanor was due to the fact that they had their wedding in court in order to be considered legally married in the United States.
The Owens were getting ready for a wedding in Cabo that would be far larger than the one that took place on May 6. When it came to their wedding in the United States, they did not put in a lot of preparation time, but the process of organizing their destination wedding took many months.
Biles decided to hire a wedding planner so that she could have a lavish ceremony, and the planner was responsible for ensuring that everything worked well. She had her gown, which turned out to be quite different from what she had envisioned, made by Galia Lahav.
Biles gradually developed feelings for the dress that the designer had manufactured for her. It had a corseted bodice, a ballgown skirt, and a high slit in the front. “I think this is precisely how brides are supposed to feel: extravagant, beautiful, and kind of on top of the world,” she remarked of the gown.
On the actual day of the ceremony, there were 144 members of the devoted couple’s family and friends in attendance to see them exchange vows. Biles made her way to the altar, accompanied by her father Ronald, which was decorated with lush vegetation and traditional white flowers.
Paul, who is one of Biles’ uncles, served as the wedding’s officiant so that the occasion would be even more memorable. Additionally present was Biles’ grandmother, who now serves as her mother.
On Friday night, before to the big wedding on Saturday, there was a supper for the wedding party to get ready. Owens wore a white suit with shorts while Biles wore a lovely bedazzled tiny dress. Biles won the competition wearing the outfit.
At the rehearsal dinner for Owens and Biles’ wedding, Owens’ mother, Arthurine Cannon, escorted him down the aisle in the same manner that Biles’ father had done for their wedding.
After all that has transpired, Biles’ biological mother did not participate in any of the celebrations that were taking place. In point of fact, she was prohibited from being involved in the lives of her children ever since their adoption papers were finalized.
In an exclusive interview, Shanon, Biles’ mother, said that her daughter’s father, Ronald, would not let her interact with or even see her children. Ronald is the biological father of Biles. Simone had just turned six years old when she and her younger sister Adria first moved in together.
Because Shanon was struggling with drug misuse and was no longer able to care for her children, they were first put in the care of a foster family and then finally adopted by another family.. “It was hard to give them up but I had to do what I had to.”
As Biles’ biological father had left the family when his children were still very small, it was only Shanon who was responsible for parenting her four children at the time. The children often experienced hunger, and when it came to providing food, Shanon gave first priority to the stray cat that lived in the neighborhood of their home.
Biles recounted, “She always fed it, but she never fed us,” of her mother. Because her mother would prefer provide food to a stray cat than to her own children, the gymnast has an irrational hatred of cats. This prejudice was instilled in her at a young age.
When everything became too much to take, the neighbors began becoming worried about the well-being of the youngsters. They made a call to social services, and as a result, the four Biles children were removed from the care of their mother.
Biles’ challenging upbringing served as the impetus for her to succeed in life and make the most of every opportunity, so that she would never have to go through something like again. Biles does not recall a great deal about her time while in foster care; however, she does remember being separated from her biological mother and the fear that she and her mother would be returned to their previous challenging environment.
She was there for a total of three years during which time she never stopped looking forward to her grandfather’s visits. “I always looked forward to spending time with my grandfather when we went to see him. My anticipation for his arrival at the foster home had always been focused on him.
But things turned out differently for her once her mother’s parents adopted her and her younger sister in as their own. Biles began her gymnastics training at the age of six, immediately after the completion of her adoption.
Biles was participating in a daycare field trip to a gymnasium when she was first exposed to gymnastics, the activity that would ultimately transform her life. She returned to her house with a message from the coaches, who had seen something special in Biles the moment they met her.
They urged Biles to sign up for gymnastics courses, and Robert and Nellie were more than delighted to comply with their request. The Olympic athlete says that it was the unwavering support of her parents that made it possible for her to achieve her goals. She would often post things about her parents on social media where anybody could see them.
“Thank you for being willing to give up so much from the very beginning so that I may pursue my ambition. Biles expressed her gratitude to her parents for supporting her “through all of the highs and lows.” “But most importantly, thank you for being there for me,” she added of her parents.
Nellie’s grandkids were her own children, but it took some time for her to completely accept them as such. She did all in her power to nurture them and care for them, but she was aware that it was something quite different to have an emotional connection to them as if they were her own.
She knew for certain that she was a mother the moment she understood that she would sacrifice everything for her daughters Simone and Adria. Because Shanon is Ronald’s daughter from a prior relationship, Nellie is not a biologically connected to the Biles sisters. Instead, Shanon is Nellie’s cousin.
Despite this, Nellie loved and nurtured her grandkids as if they were her own daughters, and they ultimately became her daughters. “I don’t know the exact date, but my heart just made room,” she added. “I’m so sorry.”
Biles was able to count on Nellie’s undivided support throughout her career as a gymnast. She was offered a choice when she was in the ninth grade: either she could continue going to school and never achieve an elite level of gymnastics, or she could begin home-schooling and work her way up to the elite level. She chose to home-school.
Being homeschooled meant that she missed out on a lot of experiences that other girls her age would have. Nellie informed her that she would not be participating in any extracurricular activities, including the prom, and that she would also not be hanging out with any of her classmates.
Biles was not coerced into making a choice by either Nellie or Ronald about this matter. They insisted that she make the choice on her own, and after she sobbed for many days, she finally admitted that she would go through with it.
Even when she was unwell, Biles never missed a day of gymnastics practice. She is a true champion. She always had her parents at her side, and they supported her endeavors throughout her whole professional life.
In 2013, Nellie requested Shanon to accompany her to one of her tournaments in Chicago so that she could see Simone perform. Nellie said that she made this choice because Shanon was so near, and she believed that it was necessary for her to check in on Simone and see how she was doing.
Unluckily, Shanon’s appearance caused confusion not just for the crowd but also for Biles. During the course of the competition, she became preoccupied and ended up falling when she was on her turn.
In addition to that, she identified herself to all in attendance as “Simone’s mom,” despite the fact that Nellie was there. Biles won her first world championship exactly three months after the event that occurred.
In the year that followed, Ronald and Nellie set up the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas. They came to the conclusion that the only way for Biles to continue working with her longtime coach, Aimee Boorman, was for them to open their own gymnastics facility so that Biles could follow Boorman wherever she went for work.
In addition to Biles herself, the facility is home to a number of young gymnasts with big dreams. Even people from Houston will go 40 miles out of their way to come to the World Champions Centre in the hope that their daughter may one day be able to compete on the same level as Simone Biles.
Friends informed Ronald and Nellie throughout the years that they had altered history, namely the history of gymnastics, and that this was something that had been imparted to them. A good buddy of mine just remarked on his Facebook that “your choice years ago literally impacted the history of gymnastics.”
When Biles withdrew from many events at the Tokyo Olympics, she was on the verge of creating history for a second time. Her choice to withdraw from competition was roundly condemned, but the gymnast maintained that it was the greatest victory of her career because, for the first time, she gave her mental health first priority.
Biles was confused since it was the first time she had competed without her parents in the grandstand. It was the very first time in her whole life that her parents were unable to attend one of her competitions, and she said that the circumstance at the Olympics was unlike any other.
The only times we are allowed to leave our rooms are for breakfast, lunch, and supper since we are under quarantine. She reflected on the fact that “everyone expected us to perform in a certain manner.” After coming to the conclusion that she should withdraw from the competition, the very first thing she did when she got back to Houston was see her parents.
During the Olympics in Tokyo, she sent a message on Instagram in which she said of her parents, “They mean the world to me.” The message was published not long before she announced her withdrawal from the contest.
Biles finds solace in the company of her parents. In many aspects of life, including but not limited to love, support, and parenthood, she looks up to both of them as examples. She claims that she takes their counsel to heart and that her mother, Nellie, is the one who often provides her advise on various matters.
She will be able to take the things that she has learned and implement them into her partnership with Owens now that she has tied the knot. In spite of the fact that she is embarking on a new path in her life as a wife, fans may anticipate that her connection with both of her parents will continue to strengthen.
