“I hope to see you all soon,†Richard Simmons says in a new statement to People magazine. Fans of the fitness guru became concerned when he was hospitalized earlier this week, reportedly for severe indigestion. Any news about the weight-loss expert has also received renewed scrutiny ever since the release of producer Dan Taberski’s Missing Richard Simmons podcast earlier this spring, in which Simmons’s friends and clients express concern for the well-known TV personality, who has reportedly not been seen in public since February 2014. With his statement today, Simmons clearly seeks to both assuage his fans’ fears, as well as poke fun at the mystery surrounding his decision to withdraw from his previously very public life. “Hello to everyone who has shown concern for me and sent their good wishes,†he says. “You will never know how much it means to me. Aren’t you sick of hearing and reading about me?! LOL.â€
Simmons continues, “Well by now you know that I’m not ‘missing,’ just a little under the weather. I’m sure I will be feeling good and back home in a couple of days.†His manager Michael Catalano informed ABC News about Simmons’s decision to seek medical treatment yesterday based on “the advice of the people around him.†The Sweatin’ to the Oldies host now says, “This has reminded me that when you need help you can’t be afraid to reach out and ask for it. We all think we should always be able to solve our problems all by ourselves and sometimes it’s just bigger than we are. I reached out and I hope you will too. I’m sure there are people in your life who love and care for you and would do anything to help you with the challenges you face. Just knowing you care has already made me feel better. Hope to see you again soon!â€
Last March, Simmons called into the Today show to offer similar reassurances after his friend and former masseur Mauro Oliveira voiced concerns about the weight-loss personality’s well-being to the New York Daily News. “No one is holding me in my house as a hostage. I do what I want to do as I’ve always done. So people should sort of just believe what I have to say,†Simmons said at the time. “Because, like, I’m Richard Simmons!â€