Jillian Michaels Just Wants You to Like Her: Why She Left The Biggest Loser

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When you think of celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels, the first emotion you experience is probably fear. Because, from what we’ve seen on The Biggest Loser , that lady is one scary trainer. Be Well editor, Emily, worked out with Michaels once and, from her experience alone, I think we can all agree: Michaels is indeed a bit intimidating. But the thing is, Michaels doesn’t want to be known as the most terrifying trainer to ever grace your TV screen.

In an interview with People, she talked about her reasons for leaving The Biggest Loser, explaining that when the show first aired, folks got a glimpse of her tough love approach to clients, but in more recent episodes, viewers really just saw the tough side of Michaels. “You saw none of the relationships, none of the bonds that I built with my clients,” Michaels said. And as a result, everyone thinks she’s, well, mean: “Millions of people have this warped negative perception of me,” she told the magazine.

Plus, after Rachel Frederickson’s dramatic weight loss last season, for which Michaels received a lot of backlash, she was forced, as a trainer, to re-evaluate her work. She explained, “I came to the conclusion that moving forward, I need to be able to have an impact on the outcome of what I do.” So if Michaels’ weekly scream-fest was your favorite form of fitness motivation, looks like you’ll have to find a new source of workout inspiration (or, invest in a few of her workout DVDs).

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