ABC has teased a rare upcoming interview with Richard Simmons’ house manager, expected to reveal details of Simmons’ final moments and secrets of the fitness star’s life after a decade away from the public eye.
In a trailer for the upcoming special, “The Mystery of Richard Simmons: The Diane Sawyer Special,” scheduled to air May 12, Teresa Reveles, the fitness guru’s longtime house manager, said this is “the first time[she’s]being talked about” about his death and his absence from the spotlight from 2014 until his death in 2024.
The narrator is heard asking, “And what does Richard’s live-in housekeeper, the last person to see him alive, say happened behind closed doors?”
“When I got here, I saw him on the floor,” Reveles said.
The feature also features interviews with Richard’s brother Lenny Simmons and his wife Kathy Simmons, as well as longtime manager Michael Catalano and close friend Rosie O’Donnell, and provides an inside look inside the fitness legend’s Hollywood home.
In the trailer, which promises to “uncover the mystery,” Kathy and Renee tell Sawyer that the TV star “must have been in a lot of pain” before dying at the age of 76 from a tragic fall and underlying heart condition.
O’Donnell told Sawyer in the video that she felt Richard “loved seeing people back to health.”
Mr. Simmons passed away at his home on July 13, 2024, just one day after his 76th birthday.
Mr Reveles, who worked for Mr Simmons for 35 years and called himself Mr Simmons’ “colleague”, previously said Mr Simmons “died happily” just weeks after his tragic death.
She found Simmons in his bedroom after the fatal accident and told People magazine in July 2024, “When I saw him, he seemed calm.”
Reveles also recalled connecting with the beloved television personality through the agency in 1986, and subsequently predicting that they would continue for many years to come.
“When I showed up here, Richard said to me, ‘Where are your clothes? Where’s your big suitcase?’ I said, ‘I’m only trying it out for two weeks, so I’ll just bring my little suitcase.’ If you don’t like me or don’t like my cooking, I can’t work. ”
She recalled him saying, “You’re never going to leave. You’re going to be with me until I die.”
Reveles added: “And you know what? His dream had come true. He somehow knew.”
The day before her death, Simmons eerily told People that she was “grateful” to be alive.
“I feel great! I’m grateful to be here and to live another day,” he told the magazine in an interview published on July 12, 2024.
“I will spend my birthday doing what I do every day: helping people.”
