Richard Simmons

HOLLYWOOD HILLS — Fitness guru Richard Simmons said on the Today Show Monday, March 14, that no one is holding him hostage inside his home.

For the past two years, Simmons has taken himself out of the public eye and it’s caused some people to worry. He’s cut off contact with friends and has rarely been seen outside his Hollywood Hills home.

The New York Daily News reported over the weekend that a friend of Simmons described the 67-year-old as “gaunt” and noted how his housekeeper appeared to be controlling his life.

“That’s just very silly,” Simmons told Today’s Savannah Guthrie. “Teresa Reveles has been with me for 30 years. It’s almost like we’re a married couple.”

“I just sort of wanted to be a little bit of a loner for a little while,” Simmons said. “You know, I had hurt my knee, and I had some problems with it, and then the other knee started giving me trouble because I’ve taught like thousands and thousands of classes, and you know right now I just want to sort of take care of me.”

Click here to read the entire story on Today.com.