For awhile now, Biggest Loser trainer and fitness expert Jillian Michaels has been the dream of many lesbians, but when it came to her actual love life, we weren’t so sure what to think. I mean, she looked pretty hot and gay on those motorcycles in Vanity Fair last spring, but was she gay? Well, in a new interview with Ladies Home Journal, we finally get an answer: Sort of.
“Let’s just say I believe in healthy love,” Michaels tells writer Judith Newman. “If I fall in love with a woman, that’s awesome. If I fall in love with a man, that’s awesome. As long as you fall in love … It’s like organic food. I only eat healthy food, and I only want healthy love!”
There has been speculation about Michaels’ sexuality among fans for some time, and I was pretty shocked to hear her open up about it a little to LHJ – but find myself wishing they asked a follow up question, unless she did not want to elaborate further.
Michaels was allegedly spotted kissing and “canoodling” with actress Vanessa Marcil in 2008, but the two were mostly described by the press as “best friends.”
Aside from the brief “outing,” the interview does get pretty deep into Michaels’ past – discussing her time as an “angry” and “overweight teenager” struggling with her parents divorce.
“I lived on junk food. I had no direction,” Michaels says, adding that junk food was a way to bond with her overweight father. “We sort of bonded over food … When he was alone with me and we had nothing to say to each other, it would be like, ‘Let’s eat a pizza!'”
Known for being a little brash with contestants on Biggest Loser, Michaels discusses how her martial arts instructors carried on the same way – which motivated her to work harder and focus.
“Sometimes I need to intimidate a person, and then they do what I ask, and when they see they can be successful it is the most amazing experience for them,” Michaels says. “I can use the techniques they have used to program themselves for destruction and program them for success.”
Another important point mentioned in the article is moderation. While she may be a fitness pro, that doesn’t mean she lives on carrot sticks and kale: “One thing Michaels does not worry about is going back to her former chubby self,” Newman writes. “Cheerfully she gives me a tour of her refrigerator and cupboards, quick to point out that she is no fan of deprivation: Everything is organic, but there is dark chocolate, wine, Peanut Butter Newman-O’s.”
The healthy food and work out tips are great, but we hope to hear more about Michaels’ potential lady love in the not so distant future. Perhaps this interview will prompt her to explain further. In any case, welcome to the out queer lady club, Jillian Michaels. We are happy to have you.
If you want to pick up the new issue of Ladies Home Journal, it hits newsstands Jan. 12. A new season of The Biggest Loser starts tonight on NBC.
