Richard Simmons' Rep Gives Rare Update About Him on His 75th Birthday
Richard Simmons is undoubtedly a pop culture icon but has been out of the spotlight for several years. Now, on his 75th birthday, one of his representatives has offered a rare update on the fitness guru. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Tom Estey — a rep for Simmons — said, "This is a big milestone. I just want to see him happy, which he is."
A few years ago, around the time of Simmons' 70th birthday, Estey offered similar comments. "He's doing very well. He's his jovial self. He spends most of his time at home and in his yard," he told the outlet. "He keeps up with his reading and does what he wants to do. He deserves this time to himself. Seventy years is a milestone but he doesn't look at it that way."
Simmons has been the subject of several rumors over the last year, but it seems like the fitness guru is doing really well and he took to social media to thank some important people for their help. In 2018, Simmons took to Facebook to share his immense gratitude for the "wonderful" staff at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he was admitted in 2017 for severe indigestion. He also gave a shout-out to the LAPD for escorting him through the deluge of cameras that were waiting for him when he returned home.
The Sweatin' to the Oldies host first started having troubles in early 2017 when the Missing Richard Simmons podcast debuted, purporting that he'd been "missing" for over 1,000 days. The host, Dan Taberski, presented three possible explanations as to why the pop-culture personality, the most intriguing of which is that the 68-year-old is essentially being held captive by his live-in housekeeper. This theory was supported by Mauro Oliveira, Simmons' friend, and former masseuse.
After several people came to his defense and made statements to explain that Simmons simply wanted a break from the limelight, the pop culture icon finally came out of reclusion to set the record straight and his social media presence has been a top priority ever since. "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," Simmons said in another post. "I'm sure I will be feeling good and back home in a couple of days."