Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels worked together on The Biggest Loser for years. Harper was a trainer on the show for the first 16 seasons before transitioning to host for Seasons 17 and 18. Meanwhile, Michaels served as a trainer for Seasons 1 and 2, 4 through 11, and then 14 and 15.
The show will be dissected in the upcoming Netflix docuseries Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, prompting questions about where Harper and Michaels stand 12 years after her final appearance on the weight loss show. Scroll down for everything we know about the current state of their friendship.
Are Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels still friends?
No, Harper and Michaels have not maintained a relationship since Michaels left the show in 2013. In a 2020 interview with Us Weekly, he confirmed that they had not ben in touch “at all” for a while.
At the time, Harper was gearing up to return for a new season of The Biggest Loser on USA Network. “I’m good,” he shared. “I’ve got a couple of people from the past, but not many. It’s nice that there are fresh eyes on the show but there are also my OG eyes that are there that can help contestants, hopefully.”
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While promoting the show on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in February 2020, Harper also refused to answer a fan’s question about what he missed the most about working with Michaels. “I’m just really excited to be working with the two new trainers. I mean, they are fantastic,” he said, to which Andy Cohen told viewers, “Okay, read between the lines.”
The Traitors contestant also publicly spoke out against Michaels after she commented on Lizzo‘s weight. “I could never even think where she comes from,” he said in another Us Weekly interview. “When it comes to my thoughts on anyone, I’m never going to give my opinion to anyone that’s not asking for it. It’s none of my business.”
What did Jillian Michaels say about Bob Harper’s heart attack?
In February 2017, Harper suffered a heart attack while working out at a gym in New York City, and Michaels was critical of her former costar when she weighed in on the situation a few months later.
“What do I really think?” she said on E!’s Daily Pop. “Knowing a little bit about Bob, I know that he does have a family history of it. I was there when he lost his mother to a heart attack, with him the night that she died. So there is a family history. I do also think that, you know, you’re in the middle of a CrossFit workout and you’re eating Paleo, it’s not going to help. Personally, I’m not pro-Paleo. Everyone can just go crazy on me.”
At the time, she also hinted that she hadn’t had contact with Harper in quite some time. “From what I remember of Bob, he’s looking at it, and he’s like, ‘Well I can [do it]!’ He’s not thinking about it that way. He, personally, is like, ‘I love this challenge,’” she shared.
Why did Jillian Michaels leave The Biggest Loser?
“I don’t want fans to think I feel like I’m too big for the show or that I’m seeking greener pastures. I’m so grateful to the show and so sad to leave,” Michaels confirmed to People.
However, she added that there were “fundamental differences” between her and the show’s producers that had “existed for awhile” when she threw in the towel. One of her biggest issues was how she was being portrayed on the show.
“You saw none of the relationships, none of the bonds that I build with my clients,” she explained, adding that it led “millions of people have this warped negative perception of me.”
The final straw came after Michaels was accused of cheating on the show because she gave her clients caffeine pills. Amid the controversy, someone said to her daughter, “I know who your mom is. She’s a cheater. I saw it on TV.”
Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, Friday, August 15, Netflix