Suzanne Somers is opening up about what happened to Richard Simmons.
In the new "TMZ Investigates" documentary, fittingly called, What Really Happened to Richard Simmons, the actress shared what she observed about the fitness star prior to him going totally incognito.
She believes the health guru was in a lot of pain, which she says was apparent during her last interaction with him.
In 2014, Richard closed his fitness studio and stopped teaching completely. He didn't speak out publicly for years, giving his fans cause for concern. In 2017, he spoke to People magazine after it was reported he was suffering from a health issue.
“Hello to everyone who has shown concern for me and sent their good wishes,” he said in a statement.
He continued: “You will never know how much it means to me. Aren’t you sick of hearing and reading about me?! LOL Well by now you know that I’m not ‘missing,’ just a little under the weather. I’m sure I will be feeling good and back home in a couple of days.”
Now, Suzanne is sharing what happened during their strange final interaction. She revealed in the documentary that they were supposed to appear on TV together, but Richard felt uneasy. “One night I was on the Larry King Show and he was either going to be a guest or supposed to be a guest, and I heard through the Larry King people that he didn’t want to be on the show with me,” she said.
Suzanne was shocked by his reasoning, which she felt didn't make any sense. “I said, ‘Why?’ and he said, ‘She’ll make fun of me.’ And that’s not my style, I never make fun of anybody. But that’s when I realized a little insecurity has gotten in there.”
“I liked him," she continued. "I was always so surprised when he thought I’d make fun of him. But doesn’t that show you he’s got a heartache? Something’s broken inside because he did it. He had it and then let it go."
There are a lot of theories about why Richard fell off the radar, but What Really Happened To Richard Simmons is sure to explore what really happened to the star.
The TMZ film premiered on August 22 and can be streamed on Tubi starting August 30.
