Wendy Williams’ Family Reveals The Story Behind Her Downward Spiral Of Addiction & Illness

Since the end of her popular talk show in 2022, host Wendy Williams has largely retreated from the public eye and left fans and followers concerned about her well-being. The soon-to-be-released Lifetime documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?, which will premiere on February 24, details Williams’ decline.

Williams’ family opened up for the first time about the period that unfolded in Williams’ life as she faced personal struggles that mirrored the dramatic stories she once dissected in her popular “Hot Topics” segment.

Initially, the documentary crew had planned to follow Williams as she made a comeback and prepared to launch a new podcast. However, the project took an unexpected turn when the crew found out Williams, who served as an executive producer, was in the midst of alcohol addiction and health issues, which included Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder associated with bulging eyes, and lymphedema, a condition that causes swelled feet.

One particularly poignant scene in the documentary shows Williams, 59, asking her driver to take her to the former talk show studio, having forgotten they had visited the location moments earlier. Her concerned driver remarked in the documentary, “I don’t know what the hell is going on…I think she’s losing memory. She doesn’t know who I am sometimes.”

The documentary concluded filming in April 2023 when Williams entered a facility to seek treatment for “cognitive issues,” as revealed in the film by her manager and jeweler Will Selby.

Williams’ son, Kevin Hunter Jr., featured in the documentary, disclosed that doctors had attributed these cognitive issues to alcohol use.

Presently, Williams remains in the facility. Her family shared that a court-appointed legal guardian has sole unrestricted access to her; while her family cannot contact her directly, Williams can reach out to them.

In February 2022, The Wendy Williams Show, which first aired on July 14, 2008, announced that Williams would not return for the remainder of the season. By June, the show was ultimately canceled.