Richard Simmons is the iconic weight-loss and fitness instructor of the world, and for years he was not only supportive of my career — he was beautiful to my mother before she passed.
I met Richard before almost anyone else would take my calls. He sat for one of the very first interviews on my online portal in the early 1990s — years before YouTube existed — and that interview helped an enormous number of people find a way back to their health. It was also one of the reasons I ended up on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
What set Richard apart was never the shorts or the sparkle. It was that he was, without question, the most caring and compassionate person I have ever seen work with people who were struggling with their weight and their health. He cried with them. He called them. He remembered their names. He treated my mom — who was just beginning to lose her health — with a tenderness I have never forgotten.
This photo is one of my favorite moments: re-meeting him years later backstage at the TODAY show. Same hug. Same heart.
Photo: Jorge Cruise with Richard Simmons at the TODAY show.