After lengthy negotiations, regretfully, the Jenny Craig Company and I did not come to an agreement to continue as their spokesperson.

My relationship with the Jenny Craig Company was nothing short of extraordinary. The people I worked with at Jenny were first rate. The program spoke for itself as the world watched me lose 75 pounds. The last three years have been a win-win for all involved, especially all those other Jenny clients who took the journey alongside me. Just having them there with me was an inspiration and a motivation to continue. Thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart.

J.C. now has two talented pros on board, and I have no doubt that Valerie Bertinelli and Queen Latifah, along with the excellent products in the J.C. program, will steer the ship to continuing success. I personally wish them the same excellent results and amazing adventures that I experienced as the J.C. spokesperson.

Somehow, I've also fallen into the position of "accidental" role model for, apparently, millions of people out there losing weight by whatever means. This was something I did not bargain for, or foresee happening. Nevertheless, it is something I've grown to embrace and something I intend to continue to pursue.

As for me, I am from the school of "you may not be able to reinvent the wheel but you can sure try to better it," which has proven to be a very successful attitude for Michelin tires. Even my own mentor left a major weight-loss company when she was 51 years old and struck out on her own to create her own brand that we now know as "the Jenny Craig weight-loss program." I had not intended to make this announcement at this time, but after an online PEOPLE magazine article ran last Friday, announcing that I had stepped down as Jenny's spokesperson, I found myself bombarded with inquiries from the media and fans. So I guess it's as good of a time as any to announce that I intend to develop and pilot my own weight-loss brand that I hope to launch in 2009.