A Look at Wendy Williams’ Health and Personal Challenges Over the Years.
Wendy Williams has made headlines for much more than her brutally honest opinions and on-air spats with her A-list interviewees.
The talk show host has found herself face-to-face with numerous health and personal struggles, from struggling with a cocaine addiction in the beginning of her career, to more recently, battling Graves’ disease, hyperthyroidism and other physical ailments.
Williams’ marriage has also been a hot topic as her ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, had been accused of living a double life and being unfaithful to her. After Hunter 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.
The pair’s ups and downs were explored in Williams’ January 2021 Lifetime biopic, Wendy Williams: The Movie, and the follow up documentary titled Wendy Williams: What a Mess.
Williams didn’t hold back sharing the darker parts of her past in the films as viewers learned that she is the survivor of sexual assault and got a more in-depth look at her struggles with substance abuse.
Scroll down to take a look back at William’s health and personal struggles:
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Hunter’s Affair Rumors
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.”
Fainting on Live TV
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.”
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Graves’ Disease and Thyroid Issues
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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Cocaine Confession
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.”
