Richard Simmons’ Housekeeper Opens Up About His Final Years

Teresa Reveles, who worked as the housekeeper for the late fitness guru Richard Simmons, has shared details about his final years.

For much of his later life, Simmons stayed out of the spotlight but wanted to be remembered as “full of life,” the housekeeper claimed.

Teresa Reveles also shared that Richard Simmons was never “unhappy or mean, or upset” during the more than three decades she worked for him.

In an interview with the “Today Show,” Richard Simmons’ longtime housekeeper, Teresa Reveles, shared details about the late fitness guru’s final years and her close relationship with him.

Reveles revealed that she began working for him in 1988 and that he immediately took a deep interest in her.

“He (fell) in love with me right away, that he says, ‘No, you’re never going to leave me,'” she shared with host Liz Kreutz, per Fox News.

Over the more than three decades she continued to work for him, their relationship only grew stronger.

He was “like a brother … like my father, my friend, my boyfriend, my everything,” she added.

Despite their closeness, Reveles claimed that it never turned sexual and shared that she wasn’t concerned about what anyone thought of their unusual bond.

“It’s their problem. We were very happy, and the last ten years was the most happy years,” Reveles further remarked.

When asked about whether Simmons was romantically involved with anyone during the years she worked for him, Reveles replied with “Me,” adding that the late fitness guru “never loved anybody like” her.

However, she clarified once again that it was very much platonic, but Simmons “kissed” her “all the time.”

For much of Simmons’ later years, he steered clear of the spotlight despite previously having a very public-facing lifestyle due to his television show.

Speaking about Simmons’ choice to stay out of the spotlight, Reveles hinted that it was because he wanted people to remember him as the larger-than-life character he portrayed on his eponymous show and in his aerobics videos.

“He was not happy that he was getting old, OK? He says, ‘No, I want people to remember me the way I was.’ You know … full of life.”

Still, Simmons’ absence from the spotlight led to claims that Reveles had “kidnapped” him, to which she jokingly clarified on the show that it was actually a case of him kidnapping her.

Reveles further shared that the late fitness guru had been “very, very happy” during his final days.

“I never saw Richard, in 36 years, unhappy, or mean, or upset,” she added about Simmons.

She also called it a “crazy, sad day” when she found him dead in his home on July 13, 2024, one day after his 76th birthday.

Previously, Reveles spoke about Simmons’ death in an interview with People Magazine, revealing that when she discovered him, he “looked peaceful,” but his hands were balled into fists.

“That’s why I know it was a heart attack. I had a heart attack a few years ago, and my hands did the same,” she said at the time.

She also revealed that she had advised him to go to the hospital after a fall he had the day before, but Simmons delayed the visit because he didn’t want to spend his birthday in the hospital.

Two months after Simmons’ death, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office released an autopsy report detailing the cause of his passing.

His death was ruled an accident caused by blunt traumatic injuries, seemingly from the fall he suffered.

Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease was also listed as a contributing factor, a condition in which the arteries become thickened and narrowed due to the buildup of plaque (fat, cholesterol, and other substances).

If Simmons knew about that condition, it remains unclear, as he had given a positive update about his health in March of that year.

“I feel good,” the pop culture icon told Closer Weekly. “I have been through a lot. But now all I see are beautiful, bright rainbows. Say hello to your [readers] for me and thank them for their concern.”