Fitness star Richard Simmons is "happy" after turning 75, said his rep Tom Estey. "This is a big milestone," Tom said. "I just want to see him happy, which he is.” Though the information provided was not incredibly detailed, it gives people some insight on how the seemingly reclusive fitness celebrity is doing.
In February 2014, Richard suddenly stopped teaching classes at his Beverly Hills dance studio, leaving many people to speculate and start rumors about the reason for his disappearance.
Known for his fun workouts, a source told People that Richard seemed "so high on life" during his classes, also calling him "the brightest, happiest person."
But in 2016, sources told People that there were also moments in which he was very emotional, and some of the people close to him were concerned about his well-being. That same year, People reported that Richard's friend June Park said, "people stop by his house, but nobody gets to see him. Nobody knows anything about what’s going on."
Tom dismissed concerns at the time, reminding the public that Richard is human.
"He has decided to live quietly the last few years," Tom said at the time. "He had knee surgery a few years ago and has a bum knee. He is still on Twitter and Facebook and works behind the scenes continuing to inspire and motivate people to lose weight. When he decides to come back, he will come back."
His rep added that after being in the spotlight for so many years, Richard deserved a break and time to himself, just like anyone else would.
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There was also a rumor that Richard's housekeeper was holding him hostage. His rep denied those claims, and Richard himself did as well in a phone interview with Today. Though many people, including friends, said they didn't know why Richard was isolating himself, Richard explained that he "just really [didn't] want to do anything.
"I just sort of wanted to be a little bit of a loner for a little while," he told the outlet that year. "You know, I had hurt my knee, and I had some problems with it, and then the other knee started giving me trouble because I've taught like thousands and thousands of classes, and you know right now I just want to sort of take care of me."
One rumor claimed that Richard was undergoing gender reassignment surgery, and that's why he was out of the public eye.
"It’s not true," Richard's rep said of the rumors that Richard was transitioning to be a woman.
Richard filed a lawsuit against The National Enquirer, the publication that ran the story that sparked the rumor. "I am male," Richard said in the lawsuit, according to Page Six. "I am not transgender."
Over the years, there have also been rumors about Richard's health. In 2016, Richard was hospitalized due to dehydration. He posted on Facebook after getting out of the hospital.
"Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and concern after hearing I was in the hospital," he wrote. "I was dehydrated and needed some fluids and now I am feeling great! Summer is here – drink plenty of liquids. Big hugs and kisses for caring."
In 2017, Dan Taberski, a former student and friend of Richard, started a podcast called Missing Richard Simmons to explore Richard's disappearance from the spotlight. Taberski said he started the podcast because Richard wasn't returning anyone's calls after closing his studio in 2014.
"I think he’s important and I just want to talk to him and find out he’s OK and maybe understand a little bit about what’s going on in his head and what happened to him," Taberski said at the time of the podcast's release.
The podcast description reads, "On February 15, 2014 Richard Simmons didn’t show up to teach the exercise class he had led for 40 years. He hasn't been seen in public since. Filmmaker Dan Taberski starts investigating the disappearance of his friend."
Tom said that he and Richard had no part in the podcast, and insisted that Richard should be left alone if that's what he wants.
"We did not cooperate nor participate in this podcast because we didn’t feel the need to nor did we want to. All these things distract from his legacy and I will not allow that to happen because this man is a world treasure. He has helped millions of people lose millions of pounds. He has saved millions of lives, spent millions and millions of his own money helping and saving people’s lives. This man is a saint, so treat him like a saint and leave him alone," Richard's rep said in response to the podcast.
In 2017, former students of Richard's said they saw Richard "deteriorate." Marie Garofalo, a student of Richard's for three years, said that Richard was amazing, motivational and really invested in students. However, in 2013, she claims students started to notice changes in his demeanor.
"There were lots of regulars who were there every week, and we all just saw him deteriorate," Marie claimed.
"For 40 years, he took care of everyone else but himself. And so it’s not that he’s being selfish, he’s just being a person, a regular person, taking care of himself," Richard's rep said in 2017, still saying that Richard was "fine" and that the claims made on the podcast were not true.
The Los Angeles Police Department went to Richard's home in 2017 for a welfare check and said Richard was "fine" and not being held hostage.
"He is perfectly fine and he is very happy. I don’t know what he is going to do, but right now he is doing what he wants to do and it is his business," a detective said at the time.
That same year, Richard's brother echoed the claims that Richard was fine. He said that Richard just wanted to rest.
"My brother is fine," Richard's brother said in 2017. "He’s not sick. There’s nothing medically wrong with him at all. These things about him transitioning to a woman are ridiculous. My wife Cathy and I were out there for Christmas and spent five days with him and I can assure you, he’s not transitioning into anything but himself."
A TMZ documentary on Richard's retreat from the spotlight was released in 2022, which also prompted Richard to post on social media.
"Thank you, everyone, for your kindness and love! . Love, Richard," Richard posted on Facebook after the documentary was released.
"He is happy, healthy and living the life he has chosen to live,” his rep said after the documentary came out.
Richard's YouTube channel also became active again during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of his old workouts were uploaded to his YouTube channel so people could exercise at home during lockdown.
Richard posted an update on Facebook when he decided to close his studio.
"I will not see you today because I am not very good at endings," he wrote. "I would just spend the whole time hugging and crying. My eyes would get puffy and red, my hair would get all frizzy and I’d be a mess. I cannot bear to be sad today. And you shouldn’t be sad either. This should be a celebration of our forty-plus years together dancin’ and sweatin’. So let’s turn this ending into a new beginning."
A friend provided an update on Richard's life when he turned 70 in 2018. The friend told Entertainment Tonight that Richard was "his jovial self."
"He spends most of his time at home and in his yard," the friend said that year. "He keeps up with his reading and does what he wants to do. He deserves this time to himself."
