Wendy Williams Struggled with Alcohol During Her Show: ‘She Would Be Drunk on Air,’ Says Source (Exclusive)

Wendy Williams had a long-standing problem with alcohol before her medical team announced her diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) on Thursday.

In this week’s PEOPLE cover, ex The Wendy Williams Show A source says Williams – who is currently being treated at a facility – “would be drunk on air” of the show.

“We slowly started to think, ‘What’s going on with her?'” says the source. “We knew she was drinking in front of the cameras, but we also didn’t know what else was involved. We were all in the dark. None of us really knew what was going on with Wendy’s health.”

Series co-executive producer Suzanne Bass also saw Williams’ problems. “I knew he was fighting. How could I not?” says Bass, whose husband was a stage manager. “As her situation worsened, she pushed us away.”

Now knowing her diagnosis, Bass says it “makes me very sad.”

“I hope he gets the right treatment and support,” he adds. “Her diagnosis helps explain why on air she had trouble recalling things that made her grasp the words.”

PEOPLE cover by Wendy Williams.

Williams’ family also claims they were in the dark about her recent progressive aphasia and FTD diagnosis. In a new Lifetime documentary, Where is Wendy Williams?premiered on February 24, her son Kevin Williams, Jr. says the doctors his mom saw at the family home diagnosed him with “alcohol-induced dementia” while she was staying with family in Florida during a break from The Wendy Williams Showwhere she appeared from 2008 to 2021.

Williams, 59, was last seen on The Wendy Williams Show July 23, 2021, during the season 12 finale. Although she promised viewers that she would be back on TV in just “two months and two weeks”, that day will never come.

In September 2021, it was announced that the series’ 13th season premiere would be delayed to allow Williams to recover from his battle with COVID. In October, the show decided to continue without Williams — who had previously taken several short breaks from the show to deal with symptoms of her long-term health problems and mourn the loss of her beloved mum Shirley in 2020 — at the helm, with a rotating cast of celebrity guests instead .

Wendy Williams’ family feared she could die and get ‘that call’ amid star’s alcohol abuse (Exclusive)

In February 2022, it was announced that Williams would not return until the end of the 13th season of her show. By that June, the show was canceled.

“Wendy loved doing the series,” says a show source. “The loss just broke her.”

For the Asbury Park, NJ, native — who first gained notoriety as a radio show jock in the ’90s — The Wendy Williams Show has long been a source of pride.

“We were the little engine that could,” says a show source. “When we renewed each season, we were shocked. They say a fish stinks from the head, but if it’s great, the fish shines from the head. In this case, we all enjoyed Wendy’s brilliance.”

Wendy Williams on The Wendy Williams Show 2019.

Fox

The show has gained an avid following, thanks in part to Williams’ uninhibited celebrity gossip.

“Wendy was so unique because she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind,” says Bass. “She had an opinion about everything and knew that if she wanted to be authentic to herself and her Wendy watchers, she had to say what she felt. She never wanted to let her watchers down. She loved them.”

Wendy Williams Family Breaks Silence On Her ‘Shocking And Heartbreaking’ Struggles Over The Last 3 Years (Exclusive)

Williams’ niece, Alex, 33, says the “first” time she noticed something was really wrong with her aunt was when she passed out in a Statue of Liberty costume during a 2017 Halloween episode (Williams later attributed it to her Graves’ disease , an autoimmune disorder that can cause bulging eyes, in an interview with PEOPLE in 2018.)

“I remember just feeling, ‘What’s going on? This is not normal,'” Alex says.

Wendy Williams passed out on her show in 2017.

Fox

In March 2019, Williams revealed on the show that she had been living in a sober living room, highlighting her past problems with cocaine.

“When she announced on the show that she was living in a halfway house, I was as surprised as the audience,” Bass recalls.

A month later, Williams filed for divorce from husband Kevin Hunter, 52, after 21 years of marriage when it was discovered he had fathered a child with another woman.

“[Wendy’s mom] Shirley, may she rest in peace, you’d always remind me that your aunt would sell everything she owned—every penny, every car, every wig—so she could have a solid, loving household and a loving husband,” Alex says.” It was taken away from her right after her son [Kevin Hunter Jr.] had to go to college [in 2018]. Emotionally, it was just a lot. It was too much for her world.”

Wendy Williams in cognitive rehab facility, doing ‘really great’, family says (exclusive)

Bass says Williams’ marriage “helped keep her focused,” and when it broke up, “I think it took a huge emotional toll on her.”

When the COVID suspension began in March 2020, Williams was isolated in her luxury apartment. In May 2020, her deejay DJ Boof says he found her unresponsive at home and she was rushed to the hospital where she needed several blood transfusions. That November, Williams’ mother died.

“When our mother, who was her biggest advocate and strongest supporter of anyone in this family, died, she never grieved,” says Williams’ sister, Wanda.

In August 2022, Williams began filming for Where is Wendy Williams? The intention was to follow Williams’ return after her show was canceled and as she prepared to launch a new podcast. It quickly developed into something completely different.

“She was already struggling with so many physical issues, and then it became clear that there were psychological issues and addiction issues that she was also struggling with,” says executive producer Mark Ford. “But she was adamant throughout that she wanted to tell this story. We asked ourselves almost every day, ‘Is this helping Wendy or hurting her?’ And in the end we felt that it was helping her.”

Wendy Williams with her dad in Where’s Wendy Williams? documentary.

For life

Throughout the film, Williams’ manager and jeweler Will Selby works hard to keep her away from alcohol, but notes that he can’t be with her in her New York apartment “24/7”. At one point, he finds a mostly empty vodka bottle in her house and asks Williams if she had a drink at lunch, to which she replies, “Y— you.”

“I think people got into something and didn’t realize how big and serious it was,” Alex says.

After months of disagreements with her bank, Wells Fargo, an independent legal guardian was appointed in May 2022 to oversee Williams’ finances and health.

Where is Wendy Williams? The shocking document reveals the star’s struggles with money problems, health problems and alcohol

A month after a guardian was appointed, Williams was caught on camera passing out in a Louis Vuitton store, drunk. She entered wellness for two months starting in September 2022, but the following March, after traveling to LA, Selby says in the documentary that she was “messed up” and adamant about her drinking.

The documentary crew stopped filming Williams in April 2023, after they found her in her apartment with her eyes rolled back in her head. They worked with Selby to encourage her legal guardian to seek help from Williams. That month, she checked into a facility to treat what Selby described as cognitive problems.

“The guardian came and responded to our pleas … to take her to a safer place,” says Ford. The administrator did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

Wendy Williams and Will Selby.

Calvin Gayle

Williams remains in the facility to this day, and her family says a caretaker is the only person who has unfettered access to her. Wanda and Williams’ brother Tommy said they were not told Wendy’s specific diagnosis before her care team announced on February 22 that she had aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

According to a press release, Williams received her diagnosis last year, and her medical team said the conditions “already posed significant obstacles in Wendy’s life.”

“Wendy can still do many things for herself,” the team said in a statement. “Most importantly, she maintains her trademark sense of humor and receives the care she needs to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed. She is grateful for the many kind thoughts and good wishes that have been sent to her.”

Niece Wendy Williams talks about the ‘wall’ of communication between them, which caused months of radio silence

According to the Mayo Clinic, aphasia “takes away your ability to communicate” and “can affect your ability to speak, write, and understand language, both spoken and written.” The group adds that the condition “usually appears suddenly after a stroke or head injury. But it can also come on gradually from a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease that causes progressive, permanent damage (degenerative).”

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. This means that parts of these lobes atrophy, and shrinking of these areas can cause speech problems, emotional problems and personality changes.

Wendy Williams in March 2023.

T. JACKSON / BACKGRID

According to experts, alcohol-induced dementia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) may be linked, as chronic alcohol abuse can cause brain damage, often in the frontal lobe. FTD can be triggered by genetics, but also by alcohol abuse, especially alcohol abuse later in life. And while alcohol-related dementia can be reversed if caught early, permanent brain damage can occur if a person does not abstain.

Williams’ family says they don’t know the location of the facility he’s in and they can’t call her themselves, but she can call them from a blocked number.

During a recent conversation, Williams sounded “really great,” Alex says. “Hearing my aunt now in terms of how clear she is, how focused she is on the importance of family and reality in terms of dealing with and understanding where she is physically, mentally and emotionally, it’s like a 180.”

For more on Wendy Williams, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE magazine, on newsstands everywhere Friday, or subscribe here.

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