On February 15, 2014, after decades in the entertainment limelight, Richard Simmons disappeared. His closest friends and confidants were left in the dark when Simmons stopped showing up to his regular classes at Slimmons, his fitness studio, and returned no form of communication when concerned friends reached out.
That is until Monday, April 17, when Simmons was spotted sporting a blanket over his head as he was escorted to the hospital for gastrointestinal issues. His longtime housekeeper Teresa Reveles, had to call in the LAPD to help keep the paparazzi at bay when the fitness guru returned home.
Simmons told Savannah Guthrie from TODAY “no one is holding me in my house as a hostage.” He calls the accusations wild and says “people should sort of just believe what I have to say because, like, I’m Richard Simmons!”
There has been no trace of Simmons since his disappearance 3 years ago, and his once close friends are beginning to worry there may be something more sinister going on. There is a podcast dedicated to the question, what happened to Richard Simmons? The rumors spread from Simmons transitioning into a woman to Reveles kidnapping him inside his own home. She was spotted earlier in March moving some recycling bins to the street, but there have been no other sightings.
He did reach out to say that he appreciated the support from the LAPD and the hospital staff. Staying strong in his front, Simmons wanted all the “people that were worrying about me, I want to tell them that I love them with my whole heart and soul and that not to worry, Richard’s fine,” he added, addressing himself in the third person. Not wanting to leave the debate “You haven’t seen the last of me. I’ll come back, and I’ll come back strong.”
