Heidi Rhoades Is Jillian Michaels’ Ex-partner with Whom She Welcomed Two Kids

Heidi Rhoades had been Jillian Michaels’ partner for nearly a decade when they ended their relationship. The former lovers were engaged, legally registered as domestic partners, and were parents to two kids.

Heidi Rhoades started dating former “Biggest Loser” coach Jillian Michaels in 2009. They had met through mutual friends when Heidi Rhoades worked as a music manager. After they were acquainted, she would frequently send Jillian Michaels music.

Eventually, they went on a date, and their romantic relationship began soon after. Consequently, Heidi Rhoades was thrust into the spotlight, and the media often rumored they were secretly married during the first seven years of their romance.

Jillian addressed the speculation in 2015 and revealed that she and Heidi were in a legally binding domestic partnership. By then, they were already a family of four, raising their son, Phoenix Michaels-Rhoades, and daughter, Lukensia Michaels-Rhoades.

Jillian and Heidi adopted Lukensia from Haiti in 2012 and welcomed Phoenix that year. The siblings arrived home in the same week. Since then, they haven’t been strangers to the outside world, as they frequently appear in public and on their parents’ social media.

After giving birth to Phoenix, Heidi struggled with mild post-partum depression. Initially, Jillian didn’t notice the symptoms, but once she realized something was wrong, she admitted she didn’t know how to help.

In 2016, the world got a sneak peek into their daily lives on Jillian’s reality show “Just Jillian.” In the last episode of the first season, the renowned fitness trainer popped the question, asking for Heidi’s hand in marriage.

Although Heidi was committed to Jillian, she was hesitant when the topic of marriage arose. She was happy as the celebrity trainer’s partner and didn’t see a point in tying the knot. Shortly before Jillian proposed, she confessed:

“It’s not that she’s not the one. I have this, I don’t want to say fear, but I feel like I’m preparing myself for the day she wakes up and goes, ‘I’m done with you.'”

Still, against her doubts, she agreed to marry Jillian. Jillian later revealed that Heidi wanted a big wedding. “[…] She would like to invite everybody that she has ever known and that her parents have ever known, and that she’s ever met in her entire life,” she explained.

She added that Heidi wanted a wedding dress similar to Angelina Jolie’s (her gown and veil featured her kids‘ drawings) when she married Brad Pitt. Jillian would’ve been happy officiating their union at City Hall but surrendered to planning something more festive. Unfortunately, however, their wedding never came to be.

From her announcement, it seemed the separation was amicable. Jillian said she and Heidi still loved each other but thought it best they were “friends and parents living apart than staying together.”

The couple registered as domestic partners legally settled their separation in 2020, agreeing to joint custody of their kids. Lukensia and Phoenix would spend 60 percent of their time with Heidi and the remaining 40 percent with Jillian. Jillian also paid Heidi over two million dollars in advance in child support.

Jillian found new love with New York-based fashion designer DeShanna Marie Michaels. The couple met on the Raya dating app and were frequently seen spending time together in late 2018. They went public with their romance in mid-2019.

About three years later, they were engaged. Jillian and DeShanna first tied the knot in July 2022 at a Miami courthouse. They eloped to Namibia for a small ceremony and celebration later that year and had a three-day destination wedding in Italy in June 2023.

On the other hand, Heidi has kept a relatively low profile since her split from Jillian. She has an active social media presence, frequently posting nature photos on her Instagram and, sometimes, Lukensia and Phoenix.