The world hasn’t seen fitness guru Richard Simmons in public since 2014 and now a new documentary attempts to explain why.
“TMZ Investigates: What Really Happened to Richard Simmons,” streaming now on FOX and Hulu, claims Simmons vanished from the spotlight and became a recluse in his Hollywood home because he’s dealing with a painful condition he’s had since birth.
“Something that happened to him at birth is directly connected to his disappearance — a birth defect that significantly affected one of his legs,” TMZ managing editor Fabian Garcia claims in the doc. “He was born without a full set of bones in his foot and it causes physical and emotional problems.”
The doc says the condition was actually what lead to him gaining a lot of weight when he was younger, which put stress on his knees. Eventually that spawned him to get healthy, and he went on to become a popular health guru to millions. Despite his popularity, and larger than life persona, the doc claims he is actually a shy and sensitive guy. Source: New York Post