Three years after occupying the throne atop the TV talk show universe, Wendy Williams remains bunkered down at a mental facility beyond the reach of her family members.
Williams, 59, is cordoned off in isolation as she continues to battle a host of mental and physical ailments simultaneously, including Grave’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause bulging eyes, and lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling in her feet. She also survived contracting COVID-19 during the apex of the pandemic.
Moreover, Williams is recovering from cocaine and alcohol abuse along with a well-documented mental decline when her ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, was caught starting another family surreptitiously with his mistress.
Wendy Williams kept away from family members
Amid Williams’ mental and physical deterioration, family members decry the government conservatorship that prevents them from knowing where she is being kept or the status of her well-being, People magazine reports. Only an unnamed guardian has unfettered access to Williams.
Regarding Williams’ spiral into relative obscurity, her niece, Alex Finnie, told the magazine: “We’ve all seen the images over the last few months — and really, few years — of what has seemed like a spiral for my aunt.”
Some of this personal tumult is being played out in the upcoming documentary, “Where’s Wendy Williams,” in which Williams also makes appearances.
Wendy Williams’ documentary details decline
Perhaps most poignantly, Williams’ driver recounts how Williams asked him to drive her past the set of the “Wendy Williams Show,” completely forgetting that he had just done so moments earlier.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” her driver reportedly says in the documentary, according to People. “I think she’s losing memory. She doesn’t know who I am sometimes.”
The publication states that Williams’ sister Wanda also bemoans that “It was shocking and heartbreaking to see her in this state,” she said as she added that Williams is being treated for “cognitive issues.”
The family’s angst over the once-effervescent radio show superstar-turned-TV personality is exacerbated by the fact that they cannot contact Williams. Only Williams can reach out to the family. But in her current mental and physical health, that seems unfathomable for the indefinite future.
“The people who love her cannot see her … I think the big [question] is: How the hell did we get here?”