Teresa Rebeles knew Richard Simmons for over 30 years, and when he suddenly passed away, she was understandably heartbroken, having worked under him. peopleReveles spoke candidly about Simmons and his lasting legacy.
Partway through the interview, Rebeles broke down in tears. “I can’t stop crying. I still can’t believe what happened.” When asked if she wanted to continue the interview, she replied, “No, I just want to celebrate Richard. He died happy.”
It was Reveles who discovered Simmons in his bedroom. “He seemed calm when I saw him,” Reveles said, but then she noticed his hands were clenched into fists. “So I knew it was a heart attack. I had a heart attack a few years ago and my fists were clenched the same way.”
Simmons had a bad fall two days before he died. The next day, on what would have been his 76th birthday, he told Rebeles, “Theresa, I can’t fall. My legs hurt so bad.”
“Let’s go to the hospital. You might have broken your leg,” Reveles told the fitness guru, but Simmons adamantly refused: “No, Teresa. Not on my birthday. Let’s do it in the morning.” He died the following morning.
“Everything happened the way he wanted it to,” Reveles said. “He wanted to die first, and he did. And guess what? I’m very happy because Richard was very happy. He died very happy.”
Richard Simmons’ caretaker talks about Guru’s life and their bond
“Richard adopted me many years ago and he became like a father to me. He loved me before I loved him. He gave me beautiful jewelry. Every time he gave me something, at first I was like, ‘He doesn’t know me! Why did he do this? Why did he do that?'”
When Simmons’ mother passed away, he gave his best friend a gift that represented the deep bond he shared with her. “This ring is the first ring I bought for my mother when I got my first check, and I want to give it to you,” Simmons once told Rebeles. It shows that the bond he shared with his mother was invaluable, and the feeling was more than mutual.
