Simone Biles on Biological Mother’s Drug Abuse: ”Foster Care Came And Got Us”

Adopted at 6, Simone Biles was not among the luckiest kids of all growing up. The now-decorated gymnast has had a troublesome childhood, haunting her to date. Biles has been quite vocal about her story that she was a victim of alcohol abuse as her biological mother developed an addiction at an early age. 

Apparently, this led to the separation of the Biles family, landing the four siblings in foster care. Luckily, no one separated the family, and Simone always had a helping hand in need. Soon after, her favorite person and grandfather, Ronald Biles, took her in with Adria and moved to Texas. 

Life changed, but the trauma never stopped haunting her. 21 years later, Simone Biles opened up about the same on the ‘Call Her Daddy Podcast.’ “I was only three years old, so I learned that a little bit whenever I was older. But drug and alcohol abuse. And so I just don’t think that she was around too much,” Biles commented while talking about her relationship with her biological mother. 

As a kid, the gymnast barely had any idea about her mother’s addiction, but sooner unlocked the mystery in her later years. The Olympian revealed how child protection services always had an eye out for the Biles family, and when things went wrong, they had to take the disheartened call. “So that’s kind of what happened. That’s when foster care came and got us and placed us into a foster home.” the 27-year-old said. 

Anxiety clouded Simone Biles’ thoughts as a kid 

Foster home nights took a serious toll on Simone Biles’ life. It took away her safety and comfort as the gymnast opened up about a disappointing fact. “The only thing that I remember was just being anxious when we would go to sleep because my brother was in the room next door,” she exclaimed. 

Sadly, the cousins were separated into different rooms, keeping Simone up for most of the nights. After all, she claimed she was too used to her brother being around, and the doors between rooms created a void. “I think we were just always used to sleeping together or close or whatever. ’cause he is not that much older. And mind you, we were three.”

Soon, a fear kicked in. Back in the day, Simone explained how kids were shifted from one foster home to another “during the night or during the day.” This directed her to one of the most vulnerable phases of her life, as she always remained terrified of losing her brother. “Even though I was with my sister, I was like, oh, we all have to stay together. Kind of that thing.”

Simone Biles shared a very sweet relationship with her brother. During her conversation with Alex, she revived a happy memory that was always locked in her heart. “So I’d always sneak in and go sleep with him because I’m like, oh this is my brother. You know? Because I didn’t understand the separation whenever at nighttime.”

Now, almost two decades later, she knows how to fight every battle. Tackling her way through drama, putting up the biggest smile. After all, the treasured memories are safely locked in alongside her loving parents, husband, Olympic career, and her soon-to-be beautiful home.