How she doin’? Through the years, Wendy Williams has made headlines for much more than just her brutally honest opinions and on-air spats with her A-list interviewees.
The talk show host, who was once dubbed “New York’s Shock Jockette” during her radio days, has found herself face-to-face with numerous health and personal struggles. She was addicted to cocaine for a decade in the beginning of her career, and more recently has battled Graves’ disease, hyperthyroidism and other physical ailments.
Williams’ marriage has also been a hot topic (no pun intended). For years, she has weathered allegations that her now-ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, was living a double life and had been unfaithful to her. After the TV producer welcomed a baby with another woman in March 2019, Williams finally pulled the plug on their 21-year marriage. The former couple finalized their divorce in January 2020.
Take a look back with Us Weekly at some of the Ask Wendy author’s personal woes.
In September 2017, the Daily Mail published photos of Hunter hanging out with a woman named Sharina Hudson in New Jersey. The U.K. newspaper claimed that he had purchased a home for the massage therapist just nine miles down the road from the house he shared with Williams. The report further alleged that Hunter and Hudson had been romantically involved for more than 10 years. The next morning, Williams said on The Wendy Williams Show that she will “stand by my guy” and assured viewers not to “believe the hype.”
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The Emmy nominee fainted on air in October 2017 while wearing a Statue of Liberty costume for Halloween. Producers rushed to her rescue when she collapsed to the floor as the broadcast cut to a commercial break. The host returned minutes later, explaining that she simply “overheated in my costume.”
Williams was forced to cancel three episodes of her syndicated show during the week of Valentine’s Day in February 2018 after experiencing flu-like symptoms. She noted on Instagram that she had not taken “a sick day EVER in over 25 years,” and returned as promised the following Monday.
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The former radio host took three weeks off from The Wendy Williams Show from late February to mid-March 2018 due to issues with Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism. “Wendy’s doctor prescribed a necessary three weeks of rest to get her levels and medication in sync,” a rep for the show told Us.
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To celebrate her “Be Here” national campaign with The Hunter Foundation, Williams reflected upon her decade-long battle with cocaine addiction during a July 2018 interview. “I was a functioning addict,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “They wouldn’t fire me because I was making ratings. … It’s a miracle I was able to stop.”
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The fashion designer suffered a “hair fracture on my right shoulder” in mid-December 2018, but she soldiered on. She hid her sling under her clothes on air while announcing to viewers, “I don’t need an operation, and I’m not wearing a hard cast. … The show will go on!”
Viewers expressed concern on social media after Williams slurred her words during a December 2018 episode of her show. She acknowledged her behavior was “less than stellar” and explained that she usually tries to avoid taking pain medication. “I really do ride or die for my craft and give 200 percent,” she insisted. Her health complications proved to be too much to handle though, and she repeatedly delayed her return to the show to focus on her well-being. “The struggle of being the main centerpiece of the show, day in and out, while fighting Graves’ disease has been a real battle,” a source told Us before Williams’ March 2019 return.
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As some skeptics continued to question the status of Williams and Hunter’s marriage, she addressed the speculation head-on. “I want to shout out my husband. I am still wearing my ring,” she said on TV in March 2019. “When you’ve been with somebody for 28 years, married for 25 … we know each other. He is my best friend, my lover. … I know what you’ve been saying and I know what the streets have been talking about. … I’m still very much in love with my husband.”
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The TV personality revealed in March 2019 that she has been staying at a sober living house and has a 24-hour coach. “When you see me come to work glammed up, right after the show I go across the street, I do my Pilates. I told you — two hours a day or [so], to take care of my body,” she told viewers. “I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in my past. I never went to a place to get the treatment. I don’t know how, except God was sitting on my shoulder and I just stopped.”
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Hunter made headlines in March 2019 after Page Six reported that Hudson gave birth to his child at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia.
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A source confirmed to Us on April 11, 2019, that Williams filed for divorce from Hunter after more than 21 years of marriage. They finalized the case the following January.
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Williams announced in May 2020 that her talk show was going on hiatus again. “Recently, Wendy has been dealing with symptoms from her Graves’ disease which is causing fatigue. In consultation with her doctor and as a precautionary measure, she will be taking some time off as she continues to receive treatment,” a spokesperson from The Wendy Williams Show said in a statement to Us.
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