Ellie Simmonds branded an ‘inspiration’ as documentary viewers divided over relationship with birth mum
The unnamed woman previously said she wished ‘Ellie had died’
Ellie Simmonds has been hailed after her ITV documentary Should I Have Children? aired on ITV1 last night.
The hour-long show followed Ellie as she spoke to experts and parents of disabled children, after being given up by her birth mother for adoption after she was told she had dwarfism.
In the powerful documentary, Ellie was seen getting emotional as she spoke to her birth mum on the phone. And not everyone was as forgiving as Ellie, who has decided to let her birth mum back into her life.
Ellie spoke to her birth mum on the phone at the end of last night’s documentary (Credit: ITV)
Paralympian Ellie Simmonds reconnects with birth mum in documentary
Ellie Simmonds admitted that she felt a little anxious before calling her birth mum on the phone. During the call, she asked her birth mum why she decided to give her up for adoption.
The woman, whose identity has been protected, told Ellie: “We went to a geneticist and she was very abrupt, said: ‘There you go, that’s what your baby is going to look like.” I remember coming back thinking, I can’t cope with this.”
Speaking about her mindset after giving birth, when she made the decision, the woman added: “You’re physically not right, you’re mentally not right, it’s a hard time to make a decision about anything. There was a lot in the background going on. I’d given birth on my own.”
Ellie’s birth mother then shared that her daughter’s disability became “all she could see”. She added: “I grieved the child that I thought you should have been. It was absolutely horrendous. I left you and you were my baby. I just handed you over.”
Breaking down in tears, she confessed: “You really could never get over the guilt. The guilt was horrendous. So you live with it all the time. It’s something that you’ll have that you’ll never forget. I thought about you every day. I think sometimes it was quite cowardly, to be honest.”
While Ellie was noticeably quiet during the exchange, she could be seen wiping away tears during the call.
Ellie met her birth mum as part of her first ITV documentary, Finding My Secret Family, in 2023. During that documentary, Ellie discovered that, at the time, her birth mum said she wished that she’d either “had an abortion or that Ellie had died”.
Ellie became emotional towards the end of the call with her birth mum (Credit: ITV)
Viewers react
ITV viewers were all of the opinion that Ellie is an “inspirational” woman who would be an amazing mum, should she decide to have children.
However, some couldn’t understand Ellie’s decision to reconnect with her birth mother.
“Ellie is amazing, not sure I’d give the birth mum the time of day personally, but more power to Ellie being so forgiving towards her,” said one.
“OMG just watched Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?. Absolutely brilliant documentary – hats off to her. But OMG no parent should ever give up their child just because they have a disability,” said another.
“Just watching your documentary and I can’t stop the tears!” said another on Ellie’s Instagram. “Hearing say you don’t know why your mum put you up for adoption and the part you said ‘you don’t know how you feel’ really saddens me. Big hug.”
No parent should ever give up their child just because they have a disability.
Others had more empathy for Ellie’s birth mum.
“What a well-made documentary. Well done Ellie – very emotional at the end with her birth mum,” said another.
“It must’ve been a really hard time for Ellie’s mum back then. People treated disability so differently back then,” said another.
“The heart-wrenching decisions some parents have to make must be so hard,” another added.
“Absolutely fantastic documentary,” said another, heaping praise on Ellie. “You’re an inspiration.”
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