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Inside Gold Medal Gymnast Simone & Tevin Biles' Childhood: Mom's Addiction, Foster Care, Adoption

Claudine Varela
Sep 03, 2019
12:00 P.M.

Simone Biles and her brother who was recently charged with triple murder were placed in foster care at a very young age until their relatives adopted them and raised them separately. All this because their mother struggled with drugs.

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The recent arrest of Simon Biles’ brother, Tevin Biles-Thomas for a triple murder charge has led the public to take a greater interest in the siblings and their family history. And we learn through Simone’s past interviews that they had a troubled childhood stemming from their mother’s drug addiction.

OPENING UP ABOUT HER TROUBLED CHILDHOOD

In 2017, Simone revealed on “Dancing With The Stars” that at the young age of three, she and her siblings, Tevin, Adria, and Ashley were thrust into foster care because their mother, Shanon Biles was deep into drugs and couldn’t care for them.

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“Growing up, my biological mom was suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and she was in and out of jail,” Simone recalled on the show. “I never had mom to run to. I do remember always being hungry and afraid. At 3 years old, I was placed in foster care…”

"My parents saved me,” she said on "Dancing With the Stars." “They’ve set huge examples of how to treat other people, and they’ve been there to support me since day one."

In 2018, Simone also shared this story in an article she wrote for CNN and revealed being "bounced around" from one foster home to another until she turned six when her grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles adopted her and sister, Adria. Meanwhile, Tevin and her other sister, Ashley were adopted by their great aunt, Ron’s sister, Harriett Thomas.

That being said, Simone and Tevin, 24, grew up apart. She lived in Houston, Texas with her grandparents while Tevin lived in Cleveland with their great aunt.

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SPEAKING HIGHLY OF HER ADOPTIVE PARENTS

Simone has always spoken about her adoptive parents in high regard. “My parents saved me,” she said on "Dancing With the Stars." “They’ve set huge examples of how to treat other people, and they’ve been there to support me since day one. There’s nothing I could say to them to thank them enough.”

“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,” she [Shanon] said.

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HER ESTRANGED MOTHER

On the other hand, the 22-year-old doesn’t have a lot to say when it comes to her birth parents. Her father, Kevin Clemons was never involved in their lives according to Heavy.com though no reason was given. Meanwhile, her mother, Shanon was prevented from seeing her children regularly.

On August 30, sad news hit the Biles family when Simone’s brother, Tevin was arrested for the murder of three people during a party on New Year’s Eve last year.

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Shanon confirmed this to Daily Mail in 2016.

“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,” she said.

“It took me six years before I saw my children again. I was respecting my Dad to let the kids’ transition, he felt that was the best thing for them.

“It was hard to give up my kids but I had to do what I had to, I wasn’t able to care for them. I was still using and he didn’t want me coming in and out of their lives when I wasn’t right…Years later, I understood why. I had to deal with me first.”

Regardless, Shanon said that she was “very proud” of her daughter’s accomplishments.

HER BROTHER'S ARREST

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On August 30, sad news hit the Biles family when Simone’s brother, Tevin was arrested for the murder of three people during a party on New Year’s Eve last year.

He is currently being held without bail in Liberty County Jail in Hinesville, Georgia after his arrest in Fort Stewart where he serves as a canon crewmember assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. He has been with the army since 2014 and was even deployed to Korea last year.

Biles has not responded to the arrest though she tweeted the day after and wrote, “eating my feelings don’t talk to me.”

It’s unclear how close they are but in 2017, Simone shared photos of the two of them and told her Twitter followers that people said they looked like twins though she didn't think so.

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