Ellie Simmonds, a Paralympic swimmer who appeared in the 2022 series of Strictly Come Dancing, has shared emotional insights into the first time she made contact with her birth mum
Former Strictly star Ellie Simmonds has opened up about the emotional "journey" of establishing contact with her birth mother, revealing that she "cried so much" during the process.
Ellie, a celebrated Paralympian with five gold medals to her name, has given an intimate look into her initial heart-wrenching interactions with her biological mother.
The Strictly Come Dancing alum, who lives with achondroplasia, a genetic bone growth condition causing dwarfism, was put up for adoption at just ten days old.
Now 30, Ellie has since forged a connection with her birth mother, starting with letters and eventually meeting face-to-face, but the experience of writing brought her to tears.
In a candid interview with the Guardian in 2023, she described how the situation made her "really emotional" saying: "Going through this whole journey, I cried so much."
Ellie's status as a celebrity added an extra layer of complexity. She didn't want her birth mum to "get to know" her simply because she was famous; she wished to be seen "as a person."
Yet, unbeknownst to Ellie, her mother had discovered her identity over a decade prior, and had been quietly supporting her from afar, choosing to let her daughter "get on" with her life without interference.
On the day of their meeting, despite initial nerves, Ellie found comfort as soon as they met: "I was very, very nervous. Then as soon as she walked through the door, all those nerves just disappeared, and we just hugged and cried."
What she initially planned as a brief 15-minute meeting turned into a five-hour chat, with Ellie revealing that her mum was similar to her, was talkative, and made her feel comfortable.
Fast forward to this year, and Ellie features in an emotive new documentary titled 'Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?' In the film, her birth mother discloses heartbreaking reasons for relinquishing her daughter.
During an emotional phone call, her biological mother confessed: "All I could see was your disability. You can make excuses, but I really did struggle.
"I grieved the child that I thought you should have been. It was the biggest decision of my life. To give your biological child away... it was momentous. I just handed you over and that's something you really can never get over. The guilt is horrendous. You live with it all the time."
Previously, Ellie's birth mother recounted how she had concealed her pregnancy and faced childbirth alone. Nonetheless, after Ellie's adoption, her mother said she reflected on her every single day.
She detailed how she'd watched her daughter at the Beijing Paralympics and had been her "number one fan". Her mum added that she's proud of her daughter and knows what a "fabulous woman" she is.
