Wendy Williams health and financial battle has left her family in distress and her fans in disbelief. Now her once close members are publicly speaking out to share just how hard it’s also been for them.
Wendy’s niece, Alex Finnie, bravely spoke out about her aunt’s downward spiral, highlighting the shock and heartbreak felt by the family as they witnessed Wendy’s struggles unfold over the years. “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,” Alex Finnie told People Magazine in this week’s cover story, published Wednesday. “It was shocking and heartbreaking to see her in this state.”
One of the most distressing aspects of Wendy’s current situation is the fact that her family has been unable to see her due to restrictions imposed by her legal guardian. Wendy’s sister, Wanda, expressed her frustration at not being able to visit her sister, raising questions about how they arrived at this troubling juncture. “The people who love her cannot see her,” Wendy’s sister and Finnie’s mom, Wanda, told the publication. “I think the big is: How the hell did we get here?”
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Fine and other family members will appear in the upcoming Lifetime documentary, “Where Is Wendy Williams?” The doc promises to delve deeper into Wendy’s battle with substance abuse and the events that led to her being placed under the control of a court-appointed guardian.
The documentary also reveals concerning details about Wendy’s health issues including Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause bulging eyes, and lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling in her feet — with her longtime driver sharing alarming anecdotes about her memory lapses. Wendy herself has voiced accusations of financial misconduct by her guardian, further complicating an already fraught situation.
As previously reported, in Fall 2021, season 13 of her talk show was delayed several times before moving forward without Williams and with a rotation of celebrity guest hosts, including Leah Remini and Sherri Shepherd. In 2022, Wells Fargo also froze her accounts after her financial adviser at the time alleged that she was of “unsound mind,” per Williams’ court filings. Amid that drama, her family members were also accused of exploring her.
Despite Wendy’s son, Kevin Hunter Jr., denying any wrongdoing in relation to his mother’s finances, questions linger about the extent of his involvement in her affairs. The family dynamics and financial entanglements add another layer of complexity to Wendy’s predicament, leaving many wondering about the true extent of her struggles.
As fans await the airing of “Where Is Wendy Williams?,” they are left to ponder the toll that fame and fortune have taken on the once-vibrant personality. The abrupt cancellation of “The Wendy Williams Show” and Wendy’s subsequent health decline paint a poignant picture of a woman grappling with inner demons while the world watches on.
Painfully looking back on things were and how they are now, Wanda questions, “How did she go from this aunt or sister that we love and is healthy one minute to this person who’s in and out of the hospital? How is that system better than the system the family could put in place? This system is broken.”
Right now, the power over when Williams can leave the facility, remains in her guardian’s hands, PEOPLE notes.
As heartbreaking as that is, Williams’ loved ones say they’re praying for better days:
“There is not a person in this family who doesn’t want the same thing for Wendy, and that is her health,” Wanda says. Alex adds, “She can’t wait to start the next chapter of her life.”