Ellie Simmonds’ Birth Mother Speaks Out About Giving Her Up for Adoption
Paralympian and Strictly star Ellie Simmonds’ birth mother has spoken out about the difficult decision to give her up for adoption in an emotional new documentary. The athlete, 30, was put into care at two weeks old after being diagnosed with dwarfism, which cruel medics at the time said would lead to ridicule.
According to The Sun, Ellie explored her childhood in a 2023 documentary, Finding My Secret Family, and has now filmed a follow-up in which her biological mother speaks on camera for the first time. The new documentary comes as Ellie considers starting her own family, as seen in another documentary, Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?
As reported by The Sun, Ellie’s birth mother revealed that she couldn’t cope with the situation and wanted a “magic wand” to resolve it. She struggled to look beyond Ellie’s disability and said she “grieved” for the child she wanted her to be. Ellie’s birth mother candidly explained: “It’s really quite traumatic. It’s hard for you to hear. I don’t want to in any way upset you. You’re making a decision at the wrong time of your life, because you’ve just given birth, your hormones are all over the place. You’re physically not right, you’re mentally not right.”
The source also revealed that Ellie’s birth mother kept the pregnancy a secret and gave birth on her own. She went to a geneticist who was very abrupt. Ellie’s birth mother also spoke about the traumatic split from Ellie’s birth father, which seriously impacted her mental health.
Ellie met her birth mother for the first time at the end of her 2023 documentary. The reunion came after Ellie read an old letter handwritten by her mother in which she said she wished she’d had an abortion or that Ellie had died. With a social worker acting as an intermediary, Ellie wrote to her mother explaining she wasn’t angry and that she wanted to get to know her.
As quoted in The Sun, Ellie said: “It was amazing. We spoke about everything over the last five hours. We’ve got the same sense of humour we were laughing so much. I felt like her face was just like me. What touched my heart was that she thinks about me every day and she always sees me as a daughter.”
Ellie took part in Strictly in 2022 and has won numerous awards for her swimming career, including two gold medals at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Despite tearful moments in both documentaries, Ellie maintains she has had an “amazing life” and has never felt anger towards her biological mother.
As reported by The Sun, Ellie previously said: “I wouldn’t be who I am today if my birth mother hadn’t made that decision. I could be someone so different and not have had such a positive life, being around people with different disabilities and going to the Paralympics and having all the opportunities my parents gave me.”
Ellie’s adoptive parents, Val and Steve Simmonds, adopted four other children, some of which also had disabilities. The family home had an outdoor pool, which energetic Ellie loved. She said: “I had a great childhood. We’re a very close family.” Her parents were open about her biological family, showing pictures of her mum, dad and older sister.
The Sun has spoken to Ellie about her journey, and she revealed that she never hunted for her birth family due to her busy career. Ellie said: “When I was younger I thought about my birth mum a lot. But from 2006, when I competed in my first World Championships, to when I retired, I never wanted to delve into that because I needed to be focused. When I retired, though, I lost my identity and was thinking, ‘What should I do now? Who am I as a person?’ I realised I now had time to find out who I am.”
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