overwhelming: Simone Biles’ relationship with her parents, Ronald and Nellie Biles, is deeply emotional and significant. After being adopted by the Biles family,

Simone Biles’ parents Ronald and Nellie Biles are not only her biggest fans, but they radically changed her life

The record-breaking gymnast, who is currently performing at the Paris Olympics, likely would have led a very different life had they not come into her life. The couple adopted the gymnast when she was six, along with her younger sister Adria, which just “set me up for a better route in life,” she said on Simone Vs. Herself.

Ronald and Nellie are technically Simone’s grandparents, and after their daughter Shannon was unable to look after her four babies due to addiction issues, Simone and her siblings ended up in foster care.

Simone and Adria moved around foster care for three years, until their grandparents formally adopted them. Simone considers them to be her parents, and says that “they mean the world to me.”

Nellie is Ronald’s second wife, who he married in 1977. At the time, he was working in the Air Force, stationed in San Antonio, Texas where he met nursing student Nellie. He was a single dad to Simone’s biological mom, Shannon. After marrying, the couple welcomed two more sons – Ronald Jr. and Adam.

After three years in the foster system, Simone and Adria were adopted by Ronald and Nellie. She said of the moment: “I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am unless that turning point happened. I would still be Simone Biles, probably not Simone Biles that everybody else knows, the world knows. But I also believe everything happens for a reason and I’m forever grateful for that because I definitely got a second shot at life.”

The adoption also meant a lot to Nellie, who said of meeting her daughters: “I remember praying for that bonding … because telling them that you love them and you care for them; that’s all words.”

But then you wake up one day, and you realize that you would do anything for these children. And that you would die for these children. And when that feeling comes, that’s when you know you are truly a mother.”