Paralympian Ellie Simmonds has revealed she was adopted when she was three months old and has now been reunited with her birth mother.
The Strictly star, 28, has never revealed she was adopted before and has said she decided to look for her last year blood relative after finding out she was put up for adoption at just 10 days old.
Born with achondroplasia (dwarfism), Ellie was devastated to discover that her mother wished she had died at birth after medics told her that Ellie would be ridiculed and seen as “evil” and “stupid.”
But that didn’t stop Ellie from looking for her.
She revealed that the couple had an emotional five-hour first meeting and are still in touch and rebuilding their relationship.
Adopted: Ellie Simmonds has revealed she was adopted when she is reunited with her birth mother, despite saying she wished her baby ‘died at birth’ after being born with dwarfism
She said in a new ITV documentary: ‘It’s never hit me emotionally so far, it’s never made me feel rejected or why my biological parents don’t want me.
“I’m so focused on the future and never thought about it.”
Ellie has often talked about her parents Val and Steve as her biggest supporters, but has never revealed how the couple, who have four other children, adopted her as a baby.
The swimmer was able to track down her hospital records with the help of a specialist social worker and was shocked by the medical notes taken on her at birth.
An information sheet given to her birth mother claimed that children with dwarfism “have to deal with being stared at and laughed at by other children. Indeed, there are people of normal height who equate short stature with wickedness and stupidity.’
As reported by The mirror, Ellie commented, “Can you imagine reading that and thinking, ‘That’s my kid?’ In a sense, I understand, if you don’t know anything about the disability and you get this. You’re going to be scared.’
After reading the notes, Ellie was so discouraged that she almost called off her search, but decided to persevere and discovered that her birth mother lived nearby.
Before they met, the pair exchanged letters and Ellie was left in tears as she read her mother’s note that read, “I have suffered with guilt and self-loathing for not being strong enough to face it.”
“I cannot express the happiness I feel to know that your parents and siblings have given you such a loving environment, that you are so happy. You have achieved so much.’
Shocking: Ellie was born with achondroplasia (dwarfism) and was devastated to discover that her mother wished she had died at birth after medics told her Ellie would be ridiculed
Heartbreaking: An information sheet given to her birth mother claimed that children with dwarfism “have to deal with being stared at and laughed at by other children” (Ellie pictured as a baby)
Proud: Ellie has often spoken of her parents Val and Steve as her biggest supporters, but has never previously revealed how the couple, who have four other children, adopted her as a baby (pictured at the 2012 Olympics)
Throwback: Ellie has previously spoken about her happy childhood with her adopted parents. She did not specify when she learned she was adopted
Ellie, who has decided to protect her biological mother’s identity, then got the chance to meet her in person and said she felt “heeler” knowing where she came from.
Reflecting on the ‘amazing’ encounter, she said:We howled with laughter, we have the same sense of humour. I kept looking at her and thought, “Wow, that’s my mom.”
“I felt like her face was just like mine. What touched my heart was that she said that she thinks about me every day, and that she still sees me as her daughter.
“It’s helped to figure out who I am, looking at someone who gave birth to me, the nature I come from, it makes you feel a little more whole.”
Ellie has previously spoken about her happy childhood with her adoptive parents. She did not specify when she learned she was adopted.
While three of her siblings do not have the genetic condition, her sister Katie, who is five years her senior, also has achondroplasia. Ellie has not revealed if her siblings are also adopted.
Although she was small compared to her friends, it did not affect her childhood and she took up pony riding, ballet dancing and performed in school plays.
“I grew up with parents of average height and they always made sure I was surrounded by other people with dwarfism,” she said in the BBC documentary Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism.
“There’s never really been a time in my life when I thought, ‘I want to be tall, I want to be different.’
“It’s given me some of the most amazing things, like representing my country, going to the Paralympics, and the friendship, the people I meet along the way.”
She fell in love with swimming when she was five, and three years later was racing at the same pace as her able-bodied peers, telling the Daily Mail in 2012, “I just wanted to keep up with my friends, so I worked even harder.”
When she was just 11 years old, Ellie and her mother moved to Swansea so she could train in a 50m pool with coach Billy Pye.
Meanwhile, Ellie’s father Steve and her siblings stayed at the family home in Warsall, and she traveled back and forth to visit on weekends.
Ellie devoted herself fully to the sport after watching Nyree Lewis (now Kindred) of Wales win gold in the 100m backstroke at Athens in 2004, and Ellie began training three hours a day, six days a week.
Ellie’s parents wore T-shirts emblazoned with her face as they watched Ellie break the world record at the 2012 London Olympics.
After she made history, her father Steve told Business Live, “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen her do.
He added: ‘There were seriously loud noises for all British athletes. It was an unreal atmosphere. I think the crowd’s encouragement will have made a difference.”
Ellie’s mother Val added, “You want to give your kids the best opportunities possible. That will certainly be rewarded. I was shaking the whole race. Only in the last 20 meters were we confident that she would win.’
Ellie has previously spoken about wanting to have children of her own with her partner Matt, who also has achondroplasia.
Previously asked if they should consider their genetics in children, Ellie told The Daily Mail: ‘Yeah, and you don’t know what you’d get. You could have a child who is a dwarf, or a child of average height.
“We could get a double dose. You just don’t know. However, I would like to have children in the future, and what I do know is that I would love that child no matter what, just as my parents loved me.
“You won’t know until you have a test, when that baby grows inside you.”
Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family, ITV1, Thursday 6 July, 9pm.
Representation: Ellie made history as the first star with dwarfism to appear on Strictly Come Dancing (pictured with Nikita Kuzmin last year)
Couple: Ellie has previously spoken about wanting to have children of her own with her partner Matt, who also has achondroplasia (pictured supporting Ellie at Strictly)