Jillian Michaels Return: ‘Biggest Loser’ Star Says Motherhood Has Not Softened Her

With Jillian Michaels ready to return to The Biggest Loser after she become a mother, contestants on the weight-loss show might expect to see a kinder, gentler trainer.

They would be wrong.

Known for her strict demeanor and fierce motivation of the show’s contestants, Jillian Michaels said she returns to the show just as motivated as ever. In her absence from the show Michaels adopted a child from Haiti at the same time her partner, Heidi Rhoades, delivered a baby boy.

Though people told Michaels becoming a mom would bring out her gentler side, the trainer said she hasn’t noticed it.

“Everybody was like, ‘You’re going to be so much softer.’ And I really wanted to be, but it’s not the case,” Michaels told People magazine.

“I feel like aspects of my business and home life are being sacrificed for me to be here, and I need that sacrifice to be worth it. It’s worse than it’s ever been, actually.”

Jillian Michaels said she felt pressure to return to the show that made her famous.

Michaels told Access Hollywood:

“With that said, also, you leave the show, and you want to do new things and everyone’s like, ‘That’s great.’ ‘You wanna do this? Good for you, we support you, that’s wonderful. Can you go back to ‘Biggest Loser’?’… Bob and I saw Madonna in concert recently and she played a lot of new music and we were like, ‘Cool. When’s she gonna play ‘Holiday’?’And ‘The Biggest Loser’ is sort of my version of ‘Holiday.’ ”

But Jillian Michaels does feel inspired in her return, and hopes to help what has become a national health epidemic.

“I greatly overestimated how tremendously inspired the American public gets by the show, so I’m excited to be back for that reason as well, and then childhood obesity is something we’ve all fought on a myriad of fronts,” Michaels said.

Now that she has returned, Michaels said she has no intention of leaving The Biggest Loser anytime soon.

“I will stay on at this point as long as you’ll have me,” she said, looking at her producers.

You can see Jillian Michaels in her return to The Biggest Loser on Sundays at 9 pm on NBC.