Teresa Reveles Describes Final Days Before Richard Simmons Death
Teresa Reveles said she was the last person to see Richard Simmons before his richard simmons death on July 11, 2024. The longtime house manager described a decade-long retreat from public view and said Simmons was still reaching outward, even as preparations for a planned interview were under way.
Reveles worked for Simmons for three decades, and she spoke with Diane Sawyer in a new ABC special. That puts a firsthand account on the record from someone who saw the private side of a performer who spent about a decade out of the public eye.
Reveles on Simmons' disguises
During those years, Reveles said Simmons would disguise himself if he left home. “He'd do all the very different costumes,” she said in a clip ahead of the special. “Sometimes he'd be a clown. Sometimes he'd be a woman.” “Nobody knows [it] was him,” she added.
Reveles also said she would drive him around the city so he could see new buildings and new stores. “we go in the car and -- I take him all the city so we can see the new buildings, the new store,” she said. Those details turn his public absence into something more specific: a routine managed tightly enough that even ordinary outings depended on disguise and distance.
Diane Sawyer and the flowers
Sawyer said on Good Morning America on Monday that Reveles had been “very protective” of Simmons. She also said Simmons had reached out directly to make his return after a decade of silence and share his story, then sent flowers with a note that said, “I trust you.”
The timing never lined up. Simmons died at 76 as preparations were being made for the interview, and his death was ruled accidental. A spokesperson for the Simmons family said complications from prior falls and heart disease were contributing factors, which makes Reveles’ account feel less like celebrity color and more like the last close record of how he lived once he stepped away from public life.
ABC special on May 12
The Mystery of Richard Simmons: A Diane Sawyer Special was scheduled to air on Tuesday, May 12, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. It was also set to include interviews with Lenny Simmons and Cathy Simmons, giving the broadcast a fuller family frame around the account Reveles provided.
For readers following richard simmons death, the immediate takeaway is simple: this special is the clearest new window into his final period, and Reveles is the person with the closest working claim to it. If the question is how Simmons spent his last years and who saw him last, the answer now sits with the house manager who knew his routines, his disguises, and the moment before the end.
