What happened with Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper? Biggest loser trainer reacts to former friend’s comments in docuseries

The first season of the new docuseries, The Biggest Loser, is now streaming on Netflix. Its alum, Jillian Michaels, finally opened up about Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser and its allegations targeting her. 

On August 19, 2025, she shared a series of posts and screenshots on Instagram, responding to the accusations against her shown in the new docuseries. The documentary-style series revisited the original weight-loss competition, running from 2004 to 2016. Speaking out for the first time, Jillian rejected the claims made against her.

According to a report by E! Online, she also reflected on the allegations against her for ignoring trainer Bob Harper after his 2017 heart attack. Based on Bob's statement, Michaels remained distant from him, and it "spoke volumes" for him.

A look at the much-talked-about feud between Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper

On Tuesday, the fitness trainer uploaded a screenshot of her alleged message to Harper. Sent on June 15, 2014, the message read,

"I really think it's s*itty of you to not even respond to my texts. It's this kind of thing that always makes me so disappointed my our relationship."

Additionally, she also shared two screenshots of email threads of a conversation with Bob. Sharing the deets publicly, she wrote in her caption,

"Here is an email chain with @bobharper - the Biggest Loser's producers - @drhuizenga's guy, Sandy Krum, who stayed on set with us and distributed the fat burners about which "fat burners" / caffeine pills to purchase the contestants."

During a conversation with The Guardian on August 14, as E! Online cited, Bob opened up about Jillian's cold shoulder, sharing,

"We weren’t besties, but we were partners on a television show for a very long time."

He admitted to feeling sad after his fellow trainer allegedly avoided contacting him, particularly after his health crisis. Looking back at the medical emergency and shocking heart attack he suffered in 2017, he explained the condition as something that "left him dead on the gym floor for nine minutes," as Cosmopolitan reported his statement from the docuseries. 

He spoke about artists and crew members associated with Biggest Loser contacting him to check up on his health. While recounting those days, he also specified not receiving any message or call from Jilian. While chatting with Andy Cohen, as the outlet reported, Bob revealed,

"I heard from almost everyone."

Reflecting on the dynamic he shared with Michaels, he further expressed in the show,

"How do I put this? People were always like 'You and Jillian have been so close', and I was like 'Well, we were really close on television.'"

Sharing his thoughts and weighing in with his disappointment, he noted,

"After I had my heart attack, she's the one person I never heard from. So that to me spoke volumes."

In another carousel post, Michaels reacted to claims about her restricting participants from indulging in the appropriate amount of calories. To set things straight and clarify the truth on her behalf, she shared screenshots of a direct conversation with one of the contestants. Revealing the slides, she elaborated in the caption,

"With respect to the allegation that I restricted contestants from eating enough calories: I have an example of a direct written correspondence with a contestant, while she was home for the holidays during filming, in which I explicitly instructed her to consume 1,600 calories per day."

Jillian Michaels has been receiving flak since the release of the docuseries. Now, she spoke publicly and showcased her side of the story.