Photo Credit: Richard Simmons/Instagram
Richard Simmons has not been seen since 2014 and quit teaching in his workout studio since. However his social media accounts have continued posting workout updates for him. That all changed with a new documentary about the fitness star since TMZ released a documentary about his life and disappearnce titled TMZ Investigates, What Really Happened to Richard Simmons. Overwhelmed with excitement his fans had shown for the project, Simmons shook things up by posting directly to his Facebook account himself to thank his supporters for sticking by his side and essentially understanding over the years.
“Thank you, everyone, for your kindness and love! ❤️ Love, Richard,” his post on Facebook read. And while his regular Facebook posts usually garner hundreds of comments each, this had over 5,000 comments under 48 hours. And it’s not been an easy process for him remaining quiet over the years. Back in 2018, someone planted a tracking device on his housekeeper’s car that Simmons had bought her. It was done to see if he was going to doctors or hospitals. The culprit, Scott Brian Matthews was charged with 2 counts of the crime of unlawfully using a tracking device. This was the result of a National Enquirer story that he was undergoing a sex change. He sued them but the case ended up being dismissed.
Suzanne Somers is one of the numerous people who spoke about Simmons for the documentary where she said he was clearly suffering from insecurities of his. In a People Magazine sneak peak, she said “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,” Somers said in the clip.
“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,” she continued. “I liked him. 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.”
As for the documentary, TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons premiered August 22nd and is available on Hulu and will stream for free on Tubi starting August 30th.
