Wendy Williams’ successful TV run has not been on a smooth ride due to personal life struggles and health issues the award-winning host faced.
Being a showbiz personality pretty much puts one in the public eye. Stars like Wendy Williams have had their fair share of wins and losses. The TV personality has graced TV for over three decades, until recently when she was forced to take a long break.
Williams has been battling Graves’ disease for 19 years, and things went awry in 2021 when there were adverse effects. This is, however, not the first time the media star has battled personal and health issues. Here’s a look through her travails.
Wendy Williams’ Life Before Showbiz
Wendy Williams, who grew up in a family of five, including her parents, was always bubbly and talkative. One good thing about this was she already knew what she wanted to do in the future.
Being a big girl who stood at 5ft7 in high school, Williams played sports but soon headed to Northeastern University. She picked up a degree in communication and a minor in journalism.
Williams got busy while in school as she got a DJ job at the college’s radio. Williams aired her own urban music show and honed her skill. She further interned at WRBB and Kiss 108.
After college, Williams moved to New York, where she got a radio DJ job. The would-be talk show expert was not the type to typically live by the scripts provided by her bosses, so she was fired for adding her input.
The Personal Struggles Wendy Williams Dealt With
William has been married twice, her first being to Bert Girigorie from 1994 to 1995. She tied the knot a second time with Kevin Hunter, and they were together for over two decades.
Williams struggled with several miscarriages. She would later welcome her only child, Kevin Hunter Jr., in 2000.
Things started going south in their marriage in 2017 after rumors got out that her husband had been living a double life. At the time, Williams disregarded the rumors, telling fans that she would stand by her man.
The rumors were confirmed in 2019 when Hunter welcomed a child with Sharina Hudson, his mistress of over ten years. Wendy experienced a breakdown that had her checking into a sober house.
By April 2019, she filed for divorce, following 21 years of their union. Their separation was legalized in January 2020. Since then, Wendy Williams has been trying to get on with life, albeit suffering several health issues.
Inside Her health Complications
Wendy Williams is currently going through a major transition in her career due to health issues.
William has been through a lot, from drug addictions, maternity struggles to a terminal illness. Once in 2017, during Halloween, Williams collapsed on TV in her statue of liberty costume.
She would later get on the air to say she was overheated in the outfit. She experienced flu signs in 2018 and had to cancel three episodes of “The Wendy Williams Show” to take care of herself.
During her Be Here campaign in July 2018, the 57-year-old opened up about her addiction struggles, calling herself a “functioning addict.” She continued to take breaks in between episodes of her show before announcing to fans that she was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease.
Graves’ Disease is an immune system disorder that results in the excess production of thyroid hormones. Williams’ condition worsened towards 2021, and by fall, she took a huge step away from her career.
Debmar-Mercury, the production company for her show, released a statement showing that her health was complicated, although “The Masked Singer” alum was making progress.
Amid her absence, other celebrities like Michael Rapaport, Fat Joe, and Sherri Shepherd hosted “The Wendy Williams Show.”
However, it was later announced that Williams would not be on the show for the remainder of the season. As of February 2022, it has been announced that “The View” star Sheri Shepherd would be taking over Williams’ time slot while hosting her own show, called “Sherri.”
