Richard Simmons' housekeeper speaks out for 1st time: 'He died happy'

Richard Simmons ' housekeeper of over three decades has spoken out for the first time since Simmons' death.

In an interview with People published Monday, Teresa Reveles, who began working with Simmons in 1986 after finding the job through an agency, opened up about her bond with the late fitness guru and how she wants to honor him.

"I want to celebrate Richard. He always celebrated everyone else," Reveles said of her former boss and friend, who died Saturday, July 13 , at the age of 76.

Reveles, who said she discovered Simmons in his bedroom after he died, added, "I still can't believe what happened ... I want to celebrate Richard. He died happy."

Despite the public thinking that Simmons had "disappeared" and had become "reclusive," Reveles said the reality was the opposite, and that Simmons spent his days outside of his house all the time.

"We'd go and drive," Reveles shared, adding they would even go for a walk and Simmons would wear a mask, a wig and glasses. "But sometimes we were in the street and nobody knew him, because he would not talk."

Reveles said Simmons decided to step away from his public life due to his health, among other reasons.

"He could not exercise," she explained. "He could not teach his class. [He said,] 'Teresa, my knees hurt… I think it's time for me to stop.'"

She continued, "When he told me that I thought, 'He's kidding. He can't do that.' But he said, 'I want to be Richard. If I'm not going to be Richard....' You know, with famous people, they say, 'The day I can't be myself, then I have to stop working.' And that's why he did it."

Reveles also said Simmons told her at one point that he did not like the way he looked.

"I don't want people to see me. I don't look that beautiful anymore, Teresa," she recalled him saying, despite her belief that Simmons always "looked the same."

Reflecting on the years she spent as his employee and friend, Reveles said Simmons "became like my father."

"He loved me before I loved him," she said. "He gave me beautiful jewelry. Every time he gave me something, in the early years, I was thinking, 'He doesn't know me! Why did he do this? Why did he do that?'"

Reveles said in the interview that she has come to terms with the loss and believes Simmons had found his peace at the end.

"Everything happened the way he wanted," she said, adding, "I'm very happy because Richard was really very happy. He died very happy."