Where is Jillian Michaels now? All about the former Biggest Loser trainer (and why she left the c...

Michaels was infamous for dishing out tough love to contestants. Where is Jillian Michaels now? All about the former Biggest Loser trainer (and why she left the

Michaels was infamous for dishing out tough love to contestants.

Where is Jillian Michaels now? All about the former Biggest Loser trainer (and why she left the competition series)

Michaels was infamous for dishing out tough love to contestants.

By Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn

Randall Colburn is a former editor at **. He left EW in 2023.

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Published on August 26, 2025 08:00AM EDT

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Jillian Michaels on season 4 of 'The Biggest Loser'; Michaels visits SiriusXM Studios on May 25, 2023 in New York City. Credit:

Mitchell Haaseth/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Slaven Vlasic/Getty

- Jillian Michaels was a trainer on NBC's hit reality series *The Biggest Loser* for 12 seasons.

- She currently hosts the podcast *Keeping It Real* and is an investor in several health and wellness brands.

- Michaels is married to fashion designer DeShanna Marie Minuto, with whom she co-parents two children from a previous relationship.

Love her or hate her, Jillian Michaels is an undeniably compelling reality TV personality.

The fit and fierce Michaels rose to fame in the mid-2000s as a trainer on NBC's *The Biggest Loser*, which aired for 18 seasons between 2004 and 2020. She has remained active in the health and fitness space via her podcast, app, training programs, and various brands.

The former TV star has been back in the news due to a new Netflix documentary, *Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser*, which explores the competition series' complex legacy.

If you're unfamiliar, *The Biggest Loser* awarded a cash prize of $250,000 to whichever contestant lost the highest percentage of their starting weight after a 30-week boot camp. Throughout its run (and in the years since it left the air), critics have interrogated the ethics of a weight-loss competition, not to mention the aggressive approach of many of its trainers, including Michaels.

Following the release of the three-part docuseries, Michaels has threatened legal action against *The Biggest Loser*'s producers and several of its participants. Among other claims, the docuseries alleges her knowledge and participation in the doling out of caffeine pills and other dangerous health risks for contestants. Michaels denies this, telling TMZ that the series is "filled with so many lies, and, of course, I have the emails and the text messages to back all this up."

So, where is Jillian Michaels now? Read on as we explore her life and career in the years since leaving *The Biggest Loser*.****

Who is Jillian Michaels?

Jillian Michaels on 'The Biggest Loser' in 2011.

Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Jillian Michaels is a professional fitness trainer, entrepreneur, podcaster, author, and TV personality. She was born in Los Angeles in 1974, and began struggling with her weight following her parents' divorce.

"I was definitely on the chubbier side growing up, but I hit my heaviest weight around age 13, when I was about 170 pounds," Michaels said in a 2019 interview with *Women's Health*. "I used food as comfort, but I also used it as a way to relate to my dad — he was overweight, too, so we bonded over food a lot."

Her love for fitness was born out of the martial arts classes she began taking as an "emotional outlet." As she told *Women's Health*, martial arts helped her learn to "use fitness as a means of empowerment." She went on to become a black belt.

Where are 'The Biggest Loser' trainers and hosts now? See what the coaches have been up to since the series ended

Bob Harper says 'Biggest Loser' costar Jillian Michaels didn't reach out after his heart attack

In the gym and as a trainer on *The Biggest Loser*, Michaels brings a clenched-fist ferocity to those training under her eye. "I get very aggressive and intense because these are people who are literally killing themselves, digging their own graves with their teeth," she said in a 2013 interview with *The Seattle Times*. "I need them to achieve certain benchmarks when they're with me, so if they go home, I know they will be successful and take personal responsibility."

Controversial as it was, Michaels resonated with viewers. Her career took off after the early seasons of *The Biggest Loser*, leading to book deals, fitness partnerships, and an NBC spinoff in 2010 called *Losing It With Jillian. *She also led her own E! reality show, 2016's *Just Jillian*.

In 2011, she launched the podcast *Keeping It Real: Conversations With Jillian Michaels, *which she still hosts to this day. She's also the architect behind Jillian Michaels: The Fitness App, which has offered fitness classes and meal plans since 2017.

In addition to publishing nine books on health and wellness between 2005 and 2018, several of which became *New York Times* best-sellers, Michaels started her own LLC, Empowered Media.

On her website, she describes the company as "a monumental wellness empire dedicated to total-life solutions comprising of all aspects of living well, including nutrition, fitness, self-help and overall lifestyle." It also invests in similar brands like Thrive Market and Alaya Naturals.**

Why did Jillian Michaels leave The Biggest Loser?

Jillian Michaels coaching a contestant on season 6 of 'The Biggest Loser'.

Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Michaels has spoken extensively about why she left *The Biggest Loser*, which she appeared on for 12 of its 18 seasons, between 2004 and 2014. Along with Bob Harper, she was among the first trainers to coach the show's contestants.

In a 2020 interview with PEOPLE, Michaels touched on "some fundamental differences [with *Loser*'s producers] that have existed for a while."

She added, "In the beginning of the show it was tough love. You saw the tough, and you saw the love," she said. In Michaels' view, however, she was portrayed in a different light in later seasons. "You saw none of the relationships, none of the bonds that I build with my clients."

The following year, she spoke with *Today* about her problems with how the series "gamified weight loss."

Furthermore, she felt the series was ill-equipped to deal with how mental health impacts one's health and wellness. "*The Biggest Loser* needed a mental health professional," she said. "I think there was some random guy they could talk to if they needed, but these people needed deep work. When you have someone that weighs 400 pounds, that's not just an individual who likes pizza. There's a whole lot going on there emotionally."

Michaels offered a more definitive answer during a May 2024 podcast appearance. Speaking with fitness influencer Thomas DeLauer, she said the shocking weight loss of season 15 winner Rachel Frederickson prompted her to leave the show for good.

Michaels explained she was disturbed when she saw how "unhealthily thin" Frederickson had become by the season's live finale. "When Rachel Frederickson walked down that stage looking dangerously unhealthy, I quit permanently," she said.**

Is Jillian Michaels married?

Jillian Michaels and DeShanna Marie Minuto.

Jillian Michaels/Instagram

Yes, Michaels is married to fashion designer DeShanna Marie Minuto. The pair, who met on the dating and networking app Raya, celebrated their union during a private ceremony in Namibia.

Together, they co-parent two children, 15-year-old Lukensia and 13-year-old Phoenix, with Michaels' ex, Heidi Rhoades. Michaels and Rhoades adopted Lukensia from Haiti when she was 2 years old. Within days of the adoption, Rhoades gave birth to Phoenix.**

Where is Jillian Michaels now?

Jillian Michaels and DeShanna Marie Minuto at an inaugural ball for President Donald Trump in 2025.

DeShanna Marie Michaels/Instagram

Michaels continues to operate her fitness app and website, and has integrated a video component to her *Keeping it Real* podcast. She's also become politically engaged, using her platform to show support for President Donald Trump and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) efforts put forth by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

She even made an appearance during press briefings at the White House, posing questions to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in May 2025.

Last year, she told Fox News that she and her family were building a house in Wyoming. "You find that sort of patriotism and Americana in Wyoming, and I tend to love it. And I'm also a big outdoors person. Ride horses, go hiking. Love nature."**

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