Richard Simmons hasn't been seen or heard from in over three years. Even his closest friends have not seen him or been allowed into his house. No one knows why the 68-year-old fitness teacher has vanished from the public and has not been seen since 2014.
Simmons used to have a passion for holding exercise classes to help people lose weight and become physically fit. He opened a fitness studio in 1974 and helped millions of people. An announcement was made on Facebook after 43 years that Slimmons Studio was closing in November 2016 supposedly at Simmons' request.
Speculations about Simmons
Some people are trying to figure out the mystery and are saying that perhaps Richard is being held as a prisoner in his own home by Teresa Reveles who is his nurse and housekeeper. When that rumor spread back in 2014, Simmons contacted Entertainment Tonight to clear up those claims and assured the public that he was not a victim of elder abuse by his caregiver. Another rumor was that Simmons was in hiding while he was undergoing a sex change operation. Neither of their rumors could be proven to be true.
Podcast interviews
Dan Taberski, filmmaker, producer of "The Daily Show" and close personal friend of Simmons is so concerned about the location of Simmons that he has begun conducting podcast interviews in hopes of getting to the bottom of this mystery.
In his "Missing Richard Simmons" podcast, Taberski interviewed others who were close to Simmons. He is hoping to find clues about Simmons' location and the reason for him disappearing from the public. Taberski's podcast quickly went viral and has moved to No. 1 on iTunes.
Criticisms of the podcast
In an interview with People magazine, Simmons' publicist Tom Estey said he is not going to participate in the "Missing Richard Simmons" podcast because his client has made the decision to live a more private life. He added that when Simmons decides to come back, he will be back. In the meantime, Estey insists that Richard Simmons is fine and he is not worried about him at all.
