05 July 2023 , 12:47
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Strictly Come Dancing star and Paralympian Ellie Simmonds revealed last month for the first time that she was adopted when she was three months old - but has now been reunited with her birth mother.
Last year, the gold medal-winning swimmer embarked on a search for her blood family after finding out she had been put up for adoption when she was just 10 days old.
Ellie was devastated to discover her mum wished she had died at birth after medics told her she would be ridiculed and seen as 'evil' and 'stupid' - but it didn’t stop Ellie, 28, who was born with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, from wanting to find her birth mother.
Opening up about her experience meeting her birth mum for the first time, Ellie appeared on This Morning alongside hosts Holly Willoughby and Craig Doyle to gush over how monumental it was for her to finally come face-to-face with the woman who gave her up 28 years ago.
Ellie now has a close relationship with her birth mum (ITV)Ellie had only wanted to meet her mum for a 15-minute period due to fears that they would not get along, but after laying eyes on one another, Ellie and her long lost mum embraced 'for what seemed an eternity' before they sat down to have a five-hour discussion about each others lives.
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After initially feeling nervous and guarded about finally meeting her birth mother, Ellie has revealed that she now has a new-found sense of purpose after taking the brave steps to find her - after being showered with support from her adoptive parents, Valerie and Steve.
Speaking about meeting her mum for the very first time, Ellie told Holly and Craig: "I was so nervous about meeting her - I was so stressed. But when I did meet her, I could immediately see the similarities between us both. We embraced the minute we met and ended up chatting for five hours straight.
"We have so many similar personality traits and we have the same eyes and use the same facial expressions," Ellie added.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star also revealed that her biological mother had worked out that she was her mum after watching the Paralympics where her daughter went on to win gold.
Due to the fact Ellie had kept the same name she was given at birth, and her specific condition, her mum put two and two together while watching the competition - but didn't reach out to her daughter out of respect.
After discovering that her birth mum had followed her sporting journey, Ellie gushed that she was so thankful that her mum gave her the time and respect to go looking for her first.
Ellie also admitted that finally meeting her birth mum put 'all of the pieces of the puzzle' together as she revealed that her birth mum shared so much love and appreciation for her adoptive parents for raising her and allowing her to be the incredible woman she is today.
Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family, ITV1, Thursday, July 6, 9pm.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.