Simone Biles is discussing her time spent in foster care.
The Olympic gold medalist, who is 26 years old, reposted a segment from a recent interview on Friday. In the interview, she candidly discussed her childhood experiences of being placed in foster care for several years with her three siblings.
Biles, who shared the interview clip with CNN while tagging the post “foster child,” wrote on her Instagram Story, “a conversation I had about a [topic] that is near and dear to my heart,” supplemented with a number of heart hand emojis.
Biles detailed her journey to foster care and her affiliation with Friends of the Children, a non-profit organization that mentors children in difficult circumstances; she was honored by CNN Heroes for her work with the organization.
“Being a former foster child myself, I can attest to some of the difficulties those children face,” Biles explained. “The reason my siblings and I were placed in foster care was due to our biological mother’s substance abuse issues.” At the time, I was three years old.
Simone Biles’s Instagram account On Friday, Biles reposted a video of herself discussing her upbringing in foster care during an interview.
Simone Biles’s Instagram account
On Friday, Biles reposted a video of herself discussing her upbringing in foster care during an interview.
Biles reminisced in the recording that prior to being placed in foster care, she and her siblings were occasionally left without food.
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“I simply recall how hungry we were as children, and then I recall this cat that would get fed without disturbing us,” she continued in the video. “As a result, we were brought into foster care, where, fortunately, we were all able to reside together… The times were among the finest ever. We were incredibly thrilled.”
Smiley N. Pool/Getty/Houston Chronicle
Biles was placed in foster care alongside two siblings and sister Adria (pictured).
Getty/Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle
Biles was placed in foster care alongside two siblings and sister Adria (pictured).
Simone Biles declares, “I never imagined I would compete again” and describes her return to gymnastics as a “blessing” (Exclusive).
CNN reported that Biles and her siblings Adria, Tevin, and Ashley were visited by their grandparents, Ronald and Nellie Biles, while she was in foster care. Three years later, at the age of six, Biles was adopted by her grandparents, and it was then that she discovered her passion for gymnastics.
The outlet reports that Biles encountered a gym while on a school excursion at the time. She continued, “I had never even heard of gymnastics before.” “All I could think was, ‘Oh, I bet I could do that!'”
“Having my parents and their support shaped who I am today,” she stated in another portion of the interview, prior to discussing Friends of the Children and her desire to participate. The athlete explained that the organization provides foster children with legitimate mentors for over 12 years. “It gives them love and support, because that’s what these kids need, so to have that one constant means the world to them,” according to her CNN interview.
