Strictly star admits 'I cried so much' as she tracks down real mum after being adopted
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Former Strictly star Ellie Simmonds has admitted she "cried so much" while navigating the "journey" of establishing contact with her birth mother.
Ellie, a Paralympian who won five gold medals during her successful swimming career, has shared insights into the first heartbreaking interactions she shared with her birth mother.
The Strictly Come Dancing star, who has achondroplasia, a genetic bone growth condition that leads to dwarfism, was put up for adoption when she was only ten days old.
Since then, Ellie, 30, has reconnected with her birth mother, initially via a letter and later in person, but the experience of writing to her left the star in tears. Speaking to the Guardian in 2023, she said the situation made her "really emotional", adding: "Going through this whole journey, I cried so much."
(Image: BBC)
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."
However, her mum had actually figured out who she was more than 10 years beforehand, and had been following her career, but she ultimately decided to let her daughter "get on" with her life.
On the day they finally met, Ellie felt anxious, but her fears would quickly alleviate: "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 2025, and Ellie appears in a new documentary, 'Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?' in which her mum reveals the devastating reasons why she gave up her daughter.
(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
In a heartbreaking phone conversation, her birth mother said: "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, her birth mother detailed how she'd kept the pregnancy a secret and had to give birth by herself. But, despite everything, once Ellie had gone, her mum thought about her daily.
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.
You can watch 'Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?' today (Tuesday, May 27) from 9pm to 10pm on ITV.
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