Tragic Details About Wendy Williams

This article includes discussion of addiction, pregnancy loss, and sexual assault. 

For over a decade, Wendy Williams was known as the hilarious and often controversial talk show host with the hottest takes in town. While Williams kept her public persona strong over the years, she was silently battling several health issues behind the scenes. During a 2018 episode of her eponymous talk show, the fan-favorite host revealed that she had been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called Grave's disease and would be taking a 3-week break to deal with the symptoms. Williams admitted that the condition had changed her appearance and made her eyes seem bigger by affecting the muscles behind them. At the time, a spokesperson for the star informed Today that she had received the diagnosis years prior but hadn't let it affect her quality of work. 

Williams had to understandably put her show on hold several times as a result. In addition to causing hyperthyroidism, the condition can interfere with daily life in several notable ways, including causing tremors, heart palpitations, fatigue, and nervousness. Ultimately, "The Wendy Williams Show" came to an end after 13 years in 2022 because of the host's ill health. To make matters even more tragic, Williams wasn't present for the final episode, and Sherri Shepherd closed things off. Unfortunately, her condition continued to deteriorate as the years went by too. In her 2024 documentary "Where Is Wendy Williams?" she acknowledged that her lymphedema had worsened since her initial diagnosis and had caused Williams to lose the majority of feeling in her feet. 

In May 2022, a lawyer named Sabrina Morrissey became Wendy Williams' court-appointed legal guardian, taking control of her health and finances from that point forward. Then, in February 2024, Williams' team released a statement to share that she had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and aphasia. While aphasia worsens an individual's ability to communicate over time, FTD severely impacts cognitive functions. However, the message made it clear that the beloved TV personality wasn't completely reliant on others and still managed to make people crack up at every opportunity. 

Unfortunately, her health seemingly deteriorated significantly over the next few years. In court documents obtained by People in November 2024, Morrissey wrote that Williams was "cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and legally incapacitated." The filing came as a part of Morrissey's legal battle against A&E for their documentary "Where Is Wendy Williams?" which she claimed was "filmed without a valid contract and released without Guardian's consent." The intrepid lawyer also slammed the network for exploiting Williams' health issues for their own financial gain. 

While that may make it seem like Morrissey had the media personality's best interests at heart, her family told another story. In February 2022, Williams' sister, Wanda Finnie, disclosed to People that her family had no idea about her whereabouts and had no means to contact her without going through Morrissey. In fact, a source close to the family disputed Williams' guardian's shocking claim about the entertainer being "permanently disabled" to the Daily Mail and even argued that she was in her right state of mind.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in 2018, Wendy Williams divulged that she became reliant on cocaine while working as a radio DJ in the early days of her career. The TV personality even labeled herself "a functioning addict," noting that she was able to stick to her work schedule regardless. Fortunately, Williams got sober before it was too late. However, when she was asked about her addiction issues in "Where Is Wendy Williams?" the former talk show host answered that she was fond of alcohol but insisted that she only used it for her leisure and not as a coping mechanism. Meanwhile, her manager, Will Selby, scoured her home daily to find bottles of alcohol that she had tucked away. 

The Lifetime documentary also featured a scene of him discovering an empty bottle and asking Williams if she consumed its contents all in one day. Although the media personality doesn't answer his question, she nonetheless seems agitated by the accusation. Williams also admitted that her drinking had strained her relationship with her sister and her son, Kevin Hunter Jr., because they both so desperately wanted her to quit. 

In fact, Kevin Jr. also revealed that he helped his mother recover from addiction in the past, recalling, "I helped her heal by one, eliminating all alcohol, [and two] keeping her occupied, whether it's going to the beach, working out," (via People). In fact, a doctor had once informed him that his mother's drinking habits had interfered with her cognitive abilities and ultimately led to "alcohol-induced dementia," (via YouTube).

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Wendy Williams and Kevin Hunter tied the knot in 1997 and welcomed their first and only child, son Kevin Hunter Jr., in 2000. During Williams' 2021 Business Insider interview, she admitted that her husband had started cheating on her when they first began dating and hadn't stopped even when she was pregnant with their child. As a result, it's unsurprising that the TV star was counting down the days until she would be free of their marriage while giving birth to Kevin Jr. It's worth bearing in mind, too, that during Williams' 2013 interview with VLADTv, she claimed that Kevin Sr.'s dalliances only strengthened their bond in the long run. However, the former talk show host ultimately filed for divorce in April 2019.

The news of the couple's split came just weeks after multiple outlets reported that Kevin Sr. had fathered a child with his mistress. The beloved star confirmed during her August 2019 chat with the New York Times that the rumors were indeed true and the scandal ended Williams' marriage to Kevin Sr. In fact, she had caught wind of the child's arrival a short while beforehand. So, she decided to move into a sober house to prevent herself from falling back on into her old habits and to get some peace of mind while the media was overrun by stories about her husband's infidelity. To make matters worse, The Sun reported that Williams' husband had actually had a 15-year-long affair with the woman in question.

While appearing on PBS' "American Masters: The Women's List," Wendy Williams sadly shared that she had endured several miscarriages. The former talk show host recalled the feeling of disbelief when she would suddenly have to go from picking out things for her child's nursery to making funeral arrangements within the span of a day. So, Williams was naturally over the moon when she finally welcomed Kevin Hunter Jr. Although Williams and Kevin Jr. had a close relationship throughout his younger years, their bond started fracturing when he became a teenager. During a 2014 episode of "The Wendy Williams Show," the host teared up as she acknowledged, "What I discovered this weekend is my son doesn't like me anymore," per ABC News. Kevin Jr. apparently saw her as more of a strict parent and didn't feel as close with her as he did with his so-called fun parent.

The entertainer understandably felt incredibly saddened watching the father and son go off on their little adventures because she had to remain on the sidelines. However, as Williams' health deteriorated, Kevin Jr. became increasingly protective of her. Speaking in the "Where Is Wendy Williams Now?" documentary, Kevin Jr. even expressed his concern over his mother's inner circle exploiting her. "My mom, she always talks about how she wants to work, but I feel as though she's worked enough," he proclaimed, per Entertainment Weekly. "She has people around her that are 'yes people' and allowing this to continue."

During a 2020 People interview, Wendy Williams offered some insight into her troubled childhood. "I grew up being fat-shamed by my family," she disclosed, per Essence. "My first diet was in the first grade! Tuna fish and mustard with yogurt on the side." Unfortunately, her high school years didn't bring the future star much joy either because she felt like she didn't quite belong and couldn't wait to finish up and head for Hollywood. Although Williams' stunning transformation into a multihyphenate media personality started when she was 21, she endured another traumatic experience in the early days of her career as a radio jockey. Speaking to the New York Daily News in 2021, Williams reminisced about how the R&B singer Sherrick once invited her to an album release party but instead took her to his hotel room and allegedly sexually assaulted her. 

In her 2021 biopic, "Wendy Williams: The Movie," she revisited the topic, adding, "I left after that and went home and scrubbed my skin off, cried and that was that." Williams continued, "I never told anybody. I just handled it and that's it." While the former talk show host was glad to have walked away from the harrowing experience with her life intact, she reasoned, "If anything it made me more focused and determined to move on with my life." Tragically, that wasn't the first time Williams was sexually assaulted either as she also revealed that she had been date raped in her college years too. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).