Richard Simmons cut off contact with friends and hasn't been seen in public since Feb. 15, 2014, when the flamboyant fitness guru did not show up to teach his regular $12 exercise class at his studio, which was called Slimmons.
In the three years since Simmons "disappeared from public life," there have been rumors and conspiracy theories:
1. Richard Simmons, now 68, has perhaps entered his Greta Garbo phase and just wants to be left alone.
2. Richard Simmons is allegedly being held hostage by his longtime housekeeper, who is also, supposedly, a witch.
3. Richard Simmons, who has fought depression most of his life, is now also supposedly losing his mental faculties - a downward spiral said to be prompted by the death of Hattie, his beloved 17-year-old Dalmatian.
4. Richard Simmons' knees are perhaps finally shot and it's speculated he can't bear to be seen enfeebled after a lifetime of pep.
In the absence of satisfying information, the public has supplied its own intrigue, which has been categorically denied by the few people who remain in Simmons' orbit.
"Richard is not missing," his longtime publicist, Tom Estey, writes in an email. "He is simply willingly living his life outside the public eye."
A year ago, after a New York Daily News investigation into his disappearance, Simmons called the "Today" show to squelch the rumors. His voice, normally a joyous squeal, was soft and quiet. He was healthy, he said, and under no one's control.
"I just sort of wanted to be a little bit of a loner for a while," he told Savannah Guthrie. "Right now, I just want to sort of just take care of me."
And then, unprompted, he gave America a clue to his emotional whereabouts.
"Survival has always meant a lot when you're an overweight kid and you're made fun of and you're put down," Simmons said. "Some of that stuff never leaves you, Savannah. It's sort of like a shadow, like Peter Pan."
Richard Simmons isn't missing, at least not in the legal sense.
But he is being missed.
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