Ellie Simmonds was abandoned by her mother when she was a small baby.
Ellie Simmonds’ new documentary tells about the search for her mother. PDO
Para athlete by Ellie Simmonds the story of his mother relationship is unparalleled. Simmonds tells the ITV documentary how her mother abandoned her as a baby when she found out Ellie was diagnosed with short stature.
Steve and Val Simmonds adopted a young baby, and Ellie got to live her youth as the youngest in an adoptive family of five children. However, Ellie always wondered who her biological mother was.
Simmonds was a truly gifted swimmer, and he amassed a wealth of success in the sport. He became a national hero for England at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, winning two gold medals aged just 13.
Simmonds had a successful career in swimming, winning three Paralympic gold medals and numerous other championships. However, he decided to end his career in 2021 so that he could find his biological mother.
Big surprise on TV
28-year-old Ellie tracked down her mother when she found papers related to her birth, which revealed her mother’s name. The two decided to meet each other face to face. Ellie reveals with the documentary that the agreed 15-minute conversation stretched into five hours.
Ellie’s mother revealed to her that she had recognized Ellie when she watched the Beijing Paralympics on TV. According to Ellie, her mother did not want to contact the swimmer herself because she would have considered it disrespectful to her child. Mother herself was waiting for Ellie to contact her.
Ellie is not angry with her mother, even though she gave her child up for adoption after being diagnosed with short stature. Ellie says that she understands that parents have been told that disabled children are expensive. Ellie talked about the conversation with her parents on This Morning.
– My mother told me how grateful she was for my adoptive parents. He told me that I am who I am because of them, Simmonds told This Morning.
I’m open about it
Simmonds told This Morning that she always knew she was adopted. According to the swimmer, he didn’t want to talk about his family during his professional career because it could have taken the focus away from the competitions.
Since then, Simmonds has wanted to be open about her relationship with her mother because she doesn’t want it to be a taboo subject. He has said that openness has lifted a heavy burden off his shoulders.
Ellie is determined to keep her mother’s identity a secret.