Strictly Come Dancing star and former Olympic champion Ellie Simmonds has been reunited with her birth mum after revealing that she was adopted as a baby.
The Paralympian, who won five gold medals during her career, embarked on a search for her biological family last year after finding out she was put up for adoption when she was just ten days old.
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She has opened up about this journey in a new ITV documentary, Finding My Secret Family, where she met with her birth mum for the first time.
Ellie, who was born with achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, tragically discovers in the new doc that her mum had wished she 'had died' at birth after medics told her Ellie would be seen as 'evil' and 'stupid'.
Despite that, the athlete still wanted to find her and, after an emotional five-hour first meeting, she was finally able to.
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She says that she is still in touch with her birth mum now, as the pair rebuild their relationship.
"Until now, it’s never emotionally affected me, it never made me feel rejected or ask why do my birth parents not want me," she says in the documentary, as per the Mirror.
"I’ve been so focused on the future and never thought about it.
"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."
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As part of her journey, Ellie received the help of a social worker in order to obtain of files relating to her birth.
An information sheet given to her mum at birth said that her daughter would have a 'large skull and depressed nasal bridge' and children 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'.
"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 said.
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Later in the doc, she receives a emotional letter from her birth mum, which she read on camera: "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."
The pair then meet for the first time, which Ellie described as 'amazing'.
"It was amazing. I didn’t realise the time was passing by," she said.
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"What touched my heart was she said she thinks about me every day, and she still sees me as her daughter.
"It’s helped with finding out who I am, looking at someone who birthed me, the nature I’m from, it makes you a bit more whole.
"Questions I’ve carried for years have been answered. I’m proud of my life and I love my family, and maybe that family just got a bit bigger."
Topics: Celebrity, Strictly Come Dancing, Parenting
Callum Jones