Shanon Biles, Simone Biles‘ birth mother, is speaking out after the Olympian returned home with four medals from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a sit-down interview with the DailyMail, the 52-year-old expressed hope that one day Simone would reach out so she could ask for forgiveness.
“I would like to make amends with Simone personally – I’m just waiting for her and [her younger sister] Adria. 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,” she said.
When Simone was a young girl, Shanon was caught up in a web of drugs and alcohol, leaving her four children at the mercy of foster care.
“I don’t remember a lot about foster care, but I definitely knew that we had been taken from our biological mom and then you just think you’re going to go back to her,” Simone said Facebook Watch series, Simone vs. Herself.
Shanon’s father Ronald and his wife Nellie stepped up and adopted Simone and her sister Adria. Simone’s other two siblings were adopted by Ronald’s sister.
For six years after their adoption Shanon wasn’t allowed to have any contact with Simone or Adria.
“When we signed the [adoption] papers, it was like my dad flipped a switch on me – no communication, don’t call, and don’t visit. That’s how it was at the beginning,” Shanon told the Daily Mail. “…I was still using and he didn’t want me coming in and out of their lives when I wasn’t right.”
Describing herself as “hard-headed,” she said she didn’t understand it at the time, but years later she realized she needed to “deal with me first” before she could even think about establishing a relationship with her children.
Today, Shanon lives her life as a recovering addict, and she admits she will “always be an addict.”
“I’m not the person I used to be. I’m okay, today. I’m a loving person. I’d give you the shirt off my back. I’m very different from what I’ve been portrayed.”
Although Shanon may have changed, her relationship with Simone has not.
“What I hear about Simone I hear through my dad. I speak to my dad all the time. We’re good now. It was just his birthday, and I called to wish him happy birthday.”
Shanon has the 27-year-old’s phone number, but won’t call it. She wants Simone to be the one to reach out whenever she is ready.
“I can’t keep dwelling on it. Whenever she’s ready I’m here and willing to receive,” Shanon said. “I want her to reach out to me. She’s 27 now. She’s married. I would have liked to have been a part of that, but I just have to wait for her. You can’t push anybody.”
“It hasn’t happened yet, but I have patience. I’m waiting on her.”
Shanon had one final message for Simone, “I would like to sit down and talk to you and answer any questions you may have. I don’t know what you’ve been told but I want you to hear the real deal.”
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