“I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am unless that turning point happened.
Here’s all about Ronald and Nellie Biles, beloved parents and fiercest supporters of Olympic medalist Simone Biles.
Nellie grew up in Belize City in a more financially comfortable family than Ronald.
Simone Biles has visited Belize frequently on vacation while growing up.
“Belize, for me, is all about the beach.”
They married in 1977.
“Couple goals!”
declared daughter Simone in a January 2017Instagrampost celebrating their 40th anniversary.
“I think it’s important that we function as a family.
The boys are grown and live on their own.
But they still come to the house and visit quite frequently,” Nellie toldESPNWin 2016.
“That was the person I always wanted to see walk in the foster home.”
Eventually, he and other relatives decided to step in and offer the youngsters permanency.
Simone and Adria eventually moved to Texas to be with Ronald, Nellie, and their two sons.
“She said, ‘It’s up to you guys.
“I went upstairs and tried practicing it in the mirror ‘Mom, Dad, Mom, Dad.’
Then I went downstairs, and she was in the kitchen.
I looked up at her and I was like, ‘Mom?’
She said, ‘Yes!'”
“I knew I had my own barriers because these were not my biological children.
You do everything that’s nurturing, that’s mothering.
“We never, ever pushed or pressured Simone.
She set her own goals.
Plus, the young gymnast rarely listened anyway, even if it was for her own good.
Not pushing their daughter must have been tough for Ronald and Nellie, considering her undeniable talent.
She quickly outgrew the beginner’s class, and by age 8, had her own personal coach.
“Thanks for making sacrifices since day 1 so I can live out my dream.
“You guys are the absolute best.
I love y’all.”
Simone always knows where both of her parents are sitting, which brings her a sense of comfort.
I could hardly wait for it to be over with,” Nellie once confessed (viaToday).
Within days, she went from looking at land to signing the paperwork on the four-acre lot.
Considering their daughter is now worth more than three times that amount, it seems like money well spent.
When Simone decided to turn professional in 2015, it was not a decision she made overnight.
“It was a very long and hard decision,” Simone said in a Texas Monthly profile.
That made sense to me.
So I was like, ‘Let’s get this going.'”
“She always knows where we are sitting, it doesn’t matter the arena.
“It’s going to be different because she thrives on the noise.
The more you cheer, the better she feels about herself.”
“I know that’s not how we envision things, you know, to happen.
But life happens.”
Nellie Biles helped Simone plan her wedding
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens had two weddingsin 2023.
“My mom gives me advice on everything,” Simone told People.
Unsurprisingly, Simone relied on her mother throughout the wedding-planning process.
“We go to church on Sunday and then have family dinner,” Simone told People.
“My mom usually cooks and most of the time it’s protein and something else.
She will ask us kids what we want!”
