Wendy Williams suffers from ‘alcohol-related brain damage’ and has nearly died several times, sources claim ahead of doc
WENDY Williams suffers from alcohol-related brain damage and has nearly died several times, multiple sources have claimed ahead of the upcoming Lifetime documentary set to premiere this weekend.
The U.S. Sun spoke with several insiders close to Wendy about the once vibrant TV star's fall from the spotlight and the battle she is in for her life.
Wendy, 59, was first presented with the devastating alcohol-related brain damage diagnosis in 2019 while she was in a rehab in Delray Beach, Florida, sources claimed.
One insider explained that as part of Wendy's rehab stay, there was a brain scan done.
Afterward, a neurologist sat down with the star, along with her son, Kevin Hunter Jr, 23, and her then-husband, Kevin Hunter Sr, 51.
"The doctor explained to them that Wendy was suffering from alcohol-related brain damage.
"They told her that her alcohol abuse had done permanent damage to the layers in her brain."
The source continued: "She was warned then and there that if she continued to drink, the damage would only get worse."
They detailed in that meeting what would eventually happen if she continued on the path she was on, according to the insider.
It was then that doctors foretold of the eventual decline of Wendy's cognitive abilities, which have become apparent to those who have come in contact with the star in recent years.
"They told her that if she kept drinking she would continue to grow more forgetful, that she wouldn't remember people's names, and eventually, she could forget who people even were," the insider said.
After The U.S. Sun reached out for response, Wendy's representatives publically announced that the star had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia.
“As Wendy’s fans are aware, in the past she has been open with the public about her medical struggles with Graves’ Disease and Lymphedema as well as other significant challenges related to her health," her team stated.
“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.
“Receiving a diagnosis has enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires."
DANGEROUS DRINKING
A second insider said that they were also made aware of Wendy's condition, and that it was shared with them due to their close proximity to the star.
"I was told that Wendy had holes in her brain from drinking and it was told to me in front of her.
"She was furious that her condition was disclosed to me, but I was told because I was in a position where I could monitor her drinking," the close insider added.
The first source also expanded that the impacts of her alcohol abuse were heightened due to her thyroid condition.
Wendy has publicly said she suffers from Graves disease, Lymphodema and alcoholism.
"Your kidneys are supposed to flush things out of your body, but with Wendy they aren't working normally, so the alcohol just stews in her," the insider said.
Multiple sources have told The U.S. Sun that Wendy had been warned by doctors over the years that "If she continues to drink she will die."
During a sit down with The U.S. Sun in May of 2023, Wendy's son Kevin opened up about his mother's struggles with alcohol and the impact it has had on her.
When asked about doctors warning his mother that if she keeps drinking, she could die, Kevin said "Any time you do something excessive, it could lead to death, It's gotten to a point where yes, it could have that effect.
"But it affects her way worse than a normal person because it stays in her system," he said, referencing the impact lymphedema and Graves disease has on how her body processes alcohol.
"When you already have issues involving your health, like with her ankles and stuff like that and then you put on top of that alcohol abuse it doesn't add any progress to the situation - it only makes things worse," Kevin added.
When asked about how tied alcohol is to Wendy's apparent cognitive decline, Kevin said:
"I think it's one of the aspects of having alcohol excessively, even when you take a normal person and you give them excessive amounts of alcohol.
"Even when you're not on it it does impede you even after you've become clear-headed.
"When you talk about what alcohol does, it slowly eats away at your brain," Wendy's son added.
The federally run National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism released a statement to The U.S. Sun about the impacts of ARBD.
The NIAAA said, "Research links heavy alcohol use and moderate to severe alcohol use disorder with damage to both white and gray matter in the brain, as well as deficits in cognitive functions."
"Heavy alcohol use over time damages the brain through a combination of direct neurotoxic effects, nutritional deficiencies, neuroinflammation, liver disease, and metabolic abnormalities, all exacerbated by aging."
"Alcohol neurotoxicity reduces synaptic complexity, alters communication between nerve cells, and decreases brain volume, particularly in frontal regions.
"Brain damage due to alcohol can manifest in problems with attention, memory, and reasoning. Abstinence may partially reverse these changes," the statement concluded.
Wendy's dwindling memory is highlighted in the new Lifetime series, as is the conservatorship that Wendy has been in since 2022.
During one scene, her driver says: "I think she’s losing memory. She doesn’t know who I am sometimes," according to People.
SCARY RELAPSE
The first insider said that after Wendy's rehab stay in Florida in 2019, the star relapsed on the plane back to New York.
"She flew private there and the plane was dry, but on the way back she flew with an assistant at the time and there was booze on the plane.
"The assistant claimed they fell asleep on the flight, and Wendy drank so much that she had alcohol poisoning and had to go to the hospital that night."
Once back in New York, Wendy was checked into a sober living facility in Queens.
Multiple sources previously confirmed to The Sun that the daytime presenter had continued to drink heavily since her time at a Queens, New York sober house and following the split from her husband Kevin up until her latest rehab stay, which appears to be going for 10 months now according to People.
Wendy's drinking would again bring her near death in May of 2020 during the COVID lockdowns.
ANOTHER HOSPITALIZATION
As The U.S. Sun had previously exclusively reported Wendy had an episode at her home during her Wendy At Home tapings, in which she was rushed to the hospital and needed several blood transfusions.
Wendy remained hospitalized for weeks following the dire incident, and Debmar Mercury was left without their star to fill the time slot.
The production company at the time blamed her Graves disease for her sudden absence from the taped at-home show.
Wendy would not return to the screen again until the fall of that year when they brought her back to studios- but without a studio audience due to COVID restrictions.
An insider close to the Lifetime production said that that frightening incident is expected to be discussed in the docuseries.
WENDY'S FINAL SEASON ABSENCE
Wendy lost her wildly popular daytime TV show after being absent for the entirety of what ended up being the last season of The Wendy Williams Show.
At the start of what would be her final season, as The U.S. Sun previously exclusively reported, Wendy was transported to an area hospital for a psychiatric incident.
During her absence in that final season, Wendy spent some time with her son, Kevin, in Florida.
Her young son took her to doctor's appointments and appeared to be watching over her while she recovered, however, it wasn't before long that Wendy returned to New York and things again began to decline.
Once back in New York she showed increasingly disturbing behavior.
From bizarre interviews where she would show her bare feet, to claiming she got married when it appeared that she hadn't, and passing out drunk in the window of Louis Vuttion, Wendy's health and well-being seemed to be in rapid decline.
That came to a head in May of last year, as The U.S. Sun had first exclusively reported when Wendy was hospitalized just two weeks before she was supposed to appear at the Atlanta Women's Expo.
WENDY'S RECENT NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE
One insider close to the ailing star said in May of 2023: "Wendy first went into the hospital about two weeks ago. She was released briefly last weekend, and she went right back in."
The insider added at the time: "At one point they did not think she was going to come out the other side okay, or at all."
It was during that last incident that Lifetime said they stopped filming with Wendy, according to People.
The outlet reported that producers said they stopped filming after Wendy's manager Will Selby found her in her apartment with her eyes rolled back into her head.
Will then urged Wendy's guardian to get her help, according to the outlet.
The series' executive producer Mark Ford said, “The guardian did come around and was responsive to our pleas... to get her into a safer place.”
WENDY'S GUARDIANSHIP
In early 2022, as The U.S. Sun first exclusively reported, Wendy's bank, Wells Fargo, filed a petition to hold a guardianship hearing for Wendy, and the star was locked out of her bank accounts.
In a filing, Wendy's attorney at the time asserted that Wells Fargo is in “possession of several million dollars’ worth of funds” belonging to the ailing host, and she had been denied access to her funds for more than two weeks.
Her attorney alleged that Wendy’s former financial advisor advised the bank that Wendy “was of unsound mind”, and that Wells Fargo had denied her access to her bank accounts and statements.
Wells Fargo justified its decision to keep Wendy’s accounts frozen by referencing its authority under various client agreements to “pause or reject instructions for a proposed transaction,’ pending judicial or administrative remedies, should they suspect financial exploitation, dementia, or undue influence,” the petition claimed.
Over the next several months, Wendy was placed in a court-appointed financial conservatorship under attorney Sabrina Morrissey, who The U.S. Sun previously exclusively revealed.
According to People Magazine, Wendy's brother, Tommy, and her sister, Wanda Finnie, as well as her niece Alex Finnie, have claimed they do not know where their sister is, and that they only know she is in a rehab facility.
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They alleged that they can't call Wendy but Wendy can call them and that the only person who knows where the star is, is her conservator.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Wendy's conservator, Sabrina, for comment.
