Wendy Williams Says She Loved Life 'Just Me and My Cats' After Kevin Hunter Divorce in 2020: It Was 'a 100% Fabulous Thing'

Wendy Williams had no doubts about her new normal after her split from Kevin Hunter.

In her first interview since her team revealed she was diagnosed with progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in February 2024 — just days before a bombshell Lifetime documentary about her premiered — the former talk show host, 60, called is The breakfast club Jan. 16, when she spoke with DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God, and guest host Loren LoRosa, from her treatment facility.

Reflecting on her life before her diagnosis, including her split from Hunter, 52, after their 21-year marriage, Williams said: “As far as I’m concerned, the divorce was 100% an amazing thing.”

“When I got divorced, I had that lawyer. I got divorced like no one else got divorced,” she continued, before adding: “Look, it’s bigger than that. When I got divorced, I moved to New York, unlike New Jersey, I was solo, just me and my cats.” (Williams no longer owns any cats.)

Williams said at the time that working on her eponymous television show at the time helped keep her busy, but her heart wasn’t in it. “For me, being on television, I’m not going to lie, it was for the money,” she explained. “Radio was my root. Being on the radio, for me, is a godsend, and I’ve done such great things on the radio.”

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Wendy Williams in September 2018.

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Williams split from her longtime love and manager Hunter in 2019.

“Thank you to everyone for respecting the family’s privacy during this time. Kevin supports Wendy and is working through this process together,” a rep for Williams told PEOPLE in a statement at the time.

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Williams later claimed that Hunter fathered a child with another woman. Although Hunter apologized to Williams in a statement and acknowledged “some mistakes,” he never confirmed her claim.

The couple – who married on November 30, 1997 and share a son, Kevin Jr. – finalized the divorce in 2020.

Kevin Hunter and Wendy Williams in August 2010.

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Williams was originally placed under court custody in April 2022. The deal took effect after Wells Fargo froze her accounts because her financial advisor at the time claimed she was “on the mend.” New York attorney Sabrina Morrissey was then named Williams’ legal guardian.

However, the star’s family has since spoken out against Morrissey, questioning custody and her enforcement of the legal order. Williams’ sister, Wanda Finnie, told PEOPLE 2024 that “everything was cut off” between the former TV personality and her family after the custody began.

Williams invitational interview with The breakfast club it marked the first time she spoke openly about her dementia diagnosis. Morrissey previously claimed in a court filing that Williams became “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and legally incompetent” as her alleged early-onset dementia progressed.

“Look, this system is broken, this system that I’m in. This system has rigged a lot,” Williams said during a radio show appearance, where she was joined by her niece Alex Finnie.

“This is reality. These were our lives. But specifically her life,” Finnie added at one point. “She can call us, but we can’t call her. It’s a reality since 2023. That room she’s sitting in, she’s there every day, all hours of the day, every week, every month. It doesn’t get enough sunlight. I went to New York in October to visit her, and the level of security and the level of questions that there were in terms of who I was, why I was here, what the purpose was, it was absolutely horrific.”

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Source: HIS Education