Richard Simmons QUIETLY INTERRUPT: Retired fitness guru is ‘happy’ on 75th birthday as rep makes VERY rare statement after years out of the limelight – sparking rumors he was being held hostage by his housekeeper
- Simmons has not appeared in public since 2014
- The workout star has been the subject of conspiracy theories about disappearance
- He said through a rep in 2022 that he is doing well and ‘living the life he has chosen to live’
Richard Simmons made an extremely rare public statement on Thursday to celebrate his 75th birthday.
While he did not share a personal message with the public and his fans, he did let his rep speak on his behalf.
“This is a big milestone. I just want to see him happy, and he is,” his representative Tom Estey said of the special occasion ET.
It’s a rare form of communication from the former fitness guru, who has largely hidden from the public eye since 2014.
He was previously spotted in 2017 checking out of a hospital after being treated for severe indigestion.
Checking in: Richard Simmons, who has largely hidden himself from the public eye, issued a rare statement Thursday to celebrate turning 75; seen in October 2013 in NYC
Update: “This is a major milestone. I just want to see him happy, and he is,” his rep Tom Estey said of the special occasion for ET; pictured in 1992 in Los Angeles
However, he tried to avoid being seen by covering himself almost from head to toe with a blanket, after which his housekeeper had to lead him to a waiting car.
His retirement from the spotlight shocked many friends and admirers at the time, even generating an investigative podcast, documentaries, and half-baked claims that his housekeeper was holding him hostage.
Since 2014, Simmons has only spoken to the public through a few phone interviews and rare statements from his reps.
Fans previously got news about the Sweatin’ To The Oldies star when a friend shared details about his current life ET in 2018, just before his 70th birthday.
‘He’s doing really well. He is his jovial self. He spends most of his time at home and in his garden,” the source claimed at the time.
They added that he had made progress with his “reading” queue and that he is “doing what he wants to do.”
“He deserves this time for himself,” the friend continued. “Seventy years is a milestone, but he doesn’t see it that way.”
Simmons’ quiet years couldn’t be greater than when he was at the height of his fame in the 1980s and 1990s, when he opened his own exercise studio after losing more than 100 pounds.
The Beverly Hills studio, which became known as Slimmons, proved to be a popular spot for those looking to lose weight, as Simmons felt that gyms at the time were more focused on serving people who were already in perfect shape, rather than who want to get healthier.
Out of sight: The Sweatin’ To The Oldies star has rarely addressed the public in nearly a decade through a handful of phone interviews and statements from his reps; seen in 2013 at his now-defunct Slimmons Studio in Beverly Hills