Richard Simmons' family, close friends shares new details on his disappearance from public eye, death

Richard Simmons' longtime house manager, family and friends are sharing new details about the fitness icon's decade-long retreat from the public eye and his sudden death following a fall.

Simmons' house manager Teresa Reveles, who worked for Simmons for three decades, spoke with Diane Sawyer in a new ABC special about what it was like working for Simmons. She says Simmons would disguise himself if he ever left his home in the years he spent hidden from the public eye.

"He'd do all the very different costumes," Reveles said in a new clip ahead of the special, which is out Tuesday. "Sometimes he'd be a clown. Sometimes he'd be a woman."

She added, "Nobody knows [it] was him. And then later he go -- we go in the car and -- I take him all the city so we can see the new buildings, the new store."

Reveles was the last one to see Simmons alive before his death on July 11, 2024. He was 76.

"I hope I have the right words to describe the incredible man that Richard was," Reveles tells Sawyer in the special.

What led Simmons to step away from the spotlight?

Simmons seemingly disappearing from the public eye has been a mystery that many have been intrigued by over the years. A hit podcast in 2017 raised worried questions about his disappearance, along with tabloid magazines making wild accusations. There was also a rumor that he was being held in his home by Reveles against his will.

All the speculation at the time led police detectives to come to the house for a wellness check, in which Simmons convinced them that he was fine. He ended up calling "TODAY" in March 2016 to set the record straight and say that "no one is holding me in my house as a hostage."

Reveles told Sawyer that she and Simmons would have breakfast and watch television together. However, while Reveles said that Simmons appeared happy at home with her, he did seem to have a fear of being seen by anyone.

"He was insecure, okay?" Reveles told Sawyer. "That -- he don't look good. That he don't look good anymore. But that is what it was."

She said that he worried that people would say, "'Oh, Richard Simmons is -- I saw Richard. He looks old. He doesn't look good anymore.'"

Reveles also said that Simmons made her promise to never take a photo of him, even inside the house and she kept her promise.

What was behind Simmons' planned return to public life?

In 2024, the announcement of comedian Pauly Shore slated to play Simmons in a biopic about his life prompted the fitness icon to plan a return to the spotlight.

Simmons ended up issuing a rare statement on social media saying that he didn't authorize the biopic, writing: "I have never given my permission for this movie. So don't believe everything you read."

He added, "I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful."

The statement led to hundreds of his fans sending him messages of love and support.

"He was like, 'Wow, they really missed me. I didn't know anyone would care that I was gone,'" Simmons' former manager Michael Catalano said in the special. "And that just comes back to that whole insecurity thing, you know?"

Reveles said that despite his fame, Simmons told her that he never felt famous, but the outpouring of support ignited something in him.

"He tell that -- nobody's going to remember him because ten years went by," Reveles said. "And when he saw that, right away, in a second, then Richard says, 'Teresa, look.'"

Simmons reached out directly to Sawyer to make his return after a decade of silence and share his story. He also sent Sawyer flowers with a note that said, "I trust you."

Sawyer said that in a conversation with Simmons, he told her that he was planning a Broadway musical version of his life and began writing songs for it. Sawyer said that his plan for the theater was to take the front seats out so that people could come down and dance.

"It was so good to have him back," his sister-in-law Cathy Simmons said.

What happened to Simmons in the days leading up to his death?

As preparations were being made for his interview, Simmons died. It was a day after his 76th birthday. Simmons' brother Lenny Simmons and his sister-in-law Cathy Simmons had just spoken to him on the phone too, saying Simmons sounded "a little off."

His death was ruled "accidental," and a spokesperson for the Simmons' family at the time said that complications from prior falls and heart disease were contributing factors.

"It really threw us," Cathy Simmons said about her brother-in-law's death. She said that the coroner, Dr. Grant Ho, told them that Simmons had broken his femur. "It was pronated, so not out of the skin, but out," Cathy Simmons said.

"By the hip joint," Lenny Simmons added.

Reveles, whose bedroom was located downstairs of Simmons' home, said that the fall happened overnight, and when she noticed he wasn't at breakfast, she went up to check on him.

She said that she found him on the floor of his bathroom and he told her that he got dizzy and fell. Reveles said that Simmons told her that he tried to get up but his leg was in pain.

"He says, 'I scream to you and you don't hear me,'" Reveles recalled.

When she suggested that they go to the hospital, Reveles said that Simmons didn't want to go on his birthday. Reveles and Simmons' cleaning lady, Irma, ended up helping him into bed. That evening, Reveles said she gave him a sleeping medication and when she suggested to Simmons that they call an ambulance that evening, she said he told her, "'Not today, Teresa. Tomorrow I do anything you want. Tomorrow call the ambulance. Tomorrow morning you do everything.'"

The next day, Reveles said she found him on the floor.

"This is the first time I'm talking about this," Reveles said in the special. "I know he pass out right away. Right away I knew he pass out. I run. I went and hold him. I knew it was too late to help him. I hug him, I kiss him and I told him to talk to me."

While the coroner's report revealed answers about Simmons' death, it was also filled with questions. The autopsy showed that he had significant heart blockage, but it was not the cause of death, and didn't specify the possibilities of stroke, infection or kidney failure. The report also indicated several bruises on Simmons' body, which may have been from the fall, but could also have been from other things. Reveles said that Simmons "never complained" about pain unless the bruise was from exercise.

Nearly two years after his death, Simmons' close friends and family reflect on the fitness icon's final days and said that if he had agreed to go to the hospital, things may have turned out differently.

"I think Richard would be doing the interview with you and not me," Catalano told Sawyer.

How is Simmons' legacy being remembered?

In October 2024, Simmons was honored in a celebration of life at a Catholic Church in New Orleans.

Lenny Simmons delivered a eulogy and shared that the fitness icon was buried in his classic workout clothes.

"He's wearing a beautiful pink Bijan jacket, that was his favorite color was pink, beautiful gray slacks," Cathy  Simmons said. But underneath, he's wearing a glittering tank top and shorts. Lenny and Cathy Simmons said they also put one of his favorite pralines near his body.

Lenny Simmons said, "God's final plan for him -- to help the saints and the angels get into shape. Richard Simmons will forever be 'Sweating with the Holies.'"

When asked what they would say to Simmons today, his friends and family shared meaningful things, including his longtime friend Rosie O'Donnell, who said that she'd share a quote from "Les Misérables."

"My soul belongs to god, I know, I made that bargain long ago. He gave me hope when hope was gone. He gave me strength to carry on," she said.

Lenny Simmons said he'd want to know if his brother was happy.

Catalano said he'd ask Simmons, "Did you finally feel the love? And I think he would say, 'Overwhelmingly, yes.'"

The upcoming special, "The Mystery of Richard Simmons: A Diane Sawyer Special," unravels "the truth behind his disappearance and shed light on the circumstances surrounding his death," the show's producers said.

"The Mystery of Richard Simmons: A Diane Sawyer Special" is streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu.

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