Without a doubt, Simone Biles is one of the most recognizable faces in the world. The U.S. gymnast is also one of the most decorated athletes in the nation, with a skill that only comes from natural talent and hard work.
However, her life has not been easy, with her early years rooted in poverty, addiction, neglect, and abandonment.
Shanon Biles, Simone’s biological mother, struggled with a severe addiction to drugs that spiraled out of control when the future star was just a toddler.
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The Biles Sibliпgs: A Sad Joυrпey Throυgh Foster Care aпd Adoptioп
In 1999 or 2000, concerned neighbors contacted social services, leading to the removal of Simone and her three siblings from their mother’s care in a rundown house in Ohio. Simone once said she believed that her mother cared more for the family cat, feeding it before she would feed the four children in her custody. Fortunately, while in foster care, the siblings were kept together.
Ву 2003, Simone and her younger sister, Adria, were adopted by their grandfather, Ronald Biles, and his wife, Nellie, and moved to Texas. Simone refers to them as “the only real parents I’ve ever known” and calls them Mom and Dad.
Her other two siblings were sent to live with another relative, and Shanon left to her own devices, had other children who, too, experienced similar stories of neglect.
Learn about the seven-time gold medalist’s siblings, including two rising stars in sports.
Ashley Biles-Thomas, 34 Ashley Biles-Thomas, the eldest of Simone’s biological siblings, has had a life starkly different from her star sister. Raised in Columbus, Ohio, Ashley’s life has been marred by criminal activity and the lingering effects of her mother’s addiction. Ashley was with Simone and two other siblings when they were placed into foster care. Unlike Simone, she was adopted by her great-aunt Harriet, Ronald’s sister. Unfortunately, Ashley struggled to escape the cycle of addiction and crime that had plagued her early life. In 2014, she was arrested for drug trafficking and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The incident, which involved the discovery of oxycodone and oxymorphone pills during a routine traffic stop, resulted in her pleading guilty and serving a brief jail sentence, RadarOnline reported.
In 2015, Ashley was again arrested for driving under the influence with a suspended license, resulting in more legal troubles. Her struggles continued, and just before the start of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, Ashley was arrested for violating her 2019 probation.
This is around the time that Simone would withdraw from multiple events at the Tokyo Olympics to prioritize her mental health.
Despite these challenges, Ashley is a mother to a 15-year-old daughter named Nacari, according to an interview her mother Shanon did with the Daily Mail in 2016, and Ashley continues to navigate the difficult path shaped by her early life experiences.
Technically, Ronald Jr. and Adam are Simone Biles’ uncles. After Simone was adopted by her grandparents, the two men became her big brothers.
Ronald II, the oldest, works as a Regional Sales Manager in Houston, Texas, according to his LinkedIn. Family seems to be his biggest passion, shown through various posts with and his wife of four years, Samantha. He posted a picture of his little daughter, Ronni Louise Biles, dressed like her famous aunt during the Paris Olympics, proving just how excited his family was for the competition.
Adam, the younger of the two, serves as an implementation consultant at an HR firm in Tempe, Arizona, his Linkedin shares. He previously managed the family business, Simone’s training facility, World Champions Centre in Texas. The Safe Haven gym has also been the training home of Jordan Chiles.
Tevin Biles-Thomas, like Ashley, was placed into foster care and later adopted by his great-aunt Harriet. Tevin shares the same father as Simone and Adria, a man named Kelvin Clemons, who was also addicted to drugs during their early years.
Tevin joined the Army in 2014 and has since risen to the rank of specialist. He was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division as a саппоп crew member and deployed to South Korea. He and his sister Simone had always been close up until this time. Tevin’s life took a dark turn on January 1, 2018, when he was implicated in a shooting at a New Year’s Eve party in Cleveland that left three people dead. Initially charged with multiple counts of murder, voluntary manslaughter, and felonious assault, Tevin pleaded not guilty.
His lawyer, Joe Patituce, once said the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley pursued the case against his client because of Tevin’s famous sister, according to Cleveland.com. His legal battle was fraught with complications, including two mistrials due to procedural errors after the wrong evidence was handed to jurors during the trial.
In June 2021, Tevin was ultimately acquitted of the triple homicide after the judge ruled that the evidence was insufficient to convict him. The trial and its fallout weighed heavily on Simone, who expressed her grief for the victims and their families on social media.
