Shanon Biles, the mother of US gymnast Simone Biles, says she’s hoping her famous daughter can one day forgive her for putting her and her siblings up for adoption.
Biles, 52, was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction at the time, problems that led her children in and out of the foster care system.
“It was hard to give up my kids, but I had to do what I had to do. I wasn’t able to care for them. I was still using and [my father] didn’t want me coming in and out of their lives when I wasn’t right,” Shanon Biles told The Daily Mail.
When Simone Biles was six, she and her sister Adria were adopted by their grandparents, Ronald and Nellie, in Houston, while the future gold medalist’s other siblings went to live with Ronald’s sister in Cleveland.
“I would like to make amends with Simone personally – I’m just waiting for her and [her younger sister] Adria,” Biles added in her interview with the Mail. “I speak to Adria more than I speak to Simone. I would just ask her to forgive me. Can we move forward? Don’t judge me on my past. Let’s move forward.”
Shanon Biles, who is now sober and working as a grocery store cashier, said she has Simone Biles’s number but is waiting for her to choose to make contact.
Shanon was not a part of Simone’s recent life events, including her recent wedding, but did host a viewing party in Columbus, Ohio, to watch her daughter’s record-breaking performance at the Paris Olympics.
The Independent has contacted Simone Biles for comment.
The gymnast has credited support from Ronald and Nellie Biles with launching her journey to the Olympics, where she won three gold and one silver medal in Paris this time around.
“If not for my parents and adoption, I wouldn’t be here today,” she told TODAY.