Ellie Simmonds has revealed she was adopted when she was just three months old - and she has now reunited with her birth mother.
Ellie Simmonds was adopted when she was just three months old
The ex ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star - who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia - has made a documentary exploring her search for her birth mother after discovering she was put up for adoption.
In the ITV programme, the 28-year-old Paralympian was heartbroken to find out medical professionals had told her mother that Ellie could be bullied and viewed as “evil” and “stupid”.
However, Ellie - who has won five gold medals competing at Paralympic Games held in Beijing, London and Rio - did not let this discovery stop her from embarking on a successful journey to track down the woman who brought her into the world.
According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, she said: “Until now, it’s never emotionally affected me, it never made me feel rejected or ask why do my birth parents not want me. I’ve been so focused on the future and never thought about it.”
Ellie has often gushed about how her adoptive parents Steve and Val - who have four other kids - are some of her biggest supporters but did not know that she was not their biological daughter.
However, soon “questions started to bubble up” and she went on an adventure to find her birth story.
In the show, she said: “One of the reasons for being given up for adoption is dwarfism and maybe it can be a factor of why my personality is like it is, because of that rejection at the start.”
With help from a social worker, Ellie was able to locate her mother and discover how she was handed a pamphlet warning that Ellie would have “large skull and depressed nasal bridge” and that kids with achondroplasia “tend to be muscular and acrobatic, which is perhaps the reason for them traditionally being involved in the circus and other forms of theatre”.
The fact sheet also said: “Children have to deal with being stared at and laughed at by other children. Indeed, there are those with normal height who equate short stature with evil and stupidity.”
On hearing this information, Ellie said: “Can you imagine reading that and thinking, ‘That’s my child’? In a way, I understand when you don’t know anything about the disability and you get this. You’re going to be scared.”
Ellie almost stopped her quest find her mother, but was advised to carry on.
She eventually received a letter that read: "Your father and I separated before I realised I was expecting you. Unfortunately, it was very sad and traumatic in my life, and I struggled with my mental health.
“I’ve suffered with guilt and self-hatred for not being strong enough to cope. I cannot express the happiness I feel to know your parents and siblings have provided you with such a loving environment, that you’re so happy. You’ve achieved so much.”
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