Alert – Wendy Williams’ family speaks out on ‘shocking and heartbreaking’ health struggles ahead of documentary highlighting alcohol abuse… as she remains in a treatment facility

Wendy Williams’ family members are breaking their silence nearly three years after she last hosted an episode of her eponymous talk show.

The Wendy Williams Show host’s sister, brother and niece spoke with People Magazine for its latest cover story on her ongoing health issues and battles with addiction.

They spoke up just weeks after the release of a trailer for an upcoming Lifetime documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?, which reveals her struggles with alcohol abuse and other alleged ‘cognitive issues’ in the wake of her final episode as host.

‘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,’ said Alex Finnie, 33, the niece of Williams.

‘It was shocking and heartbreaking to see her in this state,’ she added of the infamous gossip monger, who serves as an executive producer on the documentary about her.

Wendy Williams’ sister, brother and niece spoke to People for its new cover story on the talk show host’s health struggles in the nearly three years since she last appeared on her show; seen in February 2020 in NYC

Her family revealed Wendy is still living at a treatment facility. They don’t know where it’s located and can only talk on the phone if Wendy chooses to call them; still from the documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?

Cameras began following Williams around in August of 2022, when she was plotting a comeback with a new podcast.

She had previously taped what would be her final episode of The Wendy Williams Show, though the series would continue in late 2021 and into 2022 with a rotating series of guest hosts filling in for her.

Where the documentary’s camera crew expected to find the host getting back into the swing of things, they instead found her battling an alleged alcohol addiction and other health conditions, including Graves disease, an autoimmune disorder that can lead to hyperthyroidism and bulging eyes, and lymphedema, in which a blocked lymphatic system allows fluid to swell up in the body, particularly in the legs and feet.

One seen in the documentary reportedly shows Williams potentially struggling with memory issues as she asks her driver to chauffeur her past her old TV studio — despite having driven her past it just minutes earlier.

‘I don’t know what the hell is going on,’ her driver admits for the cameras. ‘I think she’s losing memory. She doesn’t know who I am sometimes.’

According to People, the documentary ceased film in April of last year, when Williams entered a treatment facility for what her manager Will Selby describes in the film as ‘cognitive issues.’ 

Williams’ stint at the facility continues, and she can only be visited in person by her court-appointed guardian.

Her sister, niece and brother claim in the new interview that they don’t know what facility she is staying at, and they are not allowed to proactively call her.

The doc began filming Wendy in August 2022 before she tried to launch a podcast comeback, but it wrapped in April 2023 after documentary her struggles with alcohol abuse

One seen in the documentary reportedly shows Williams potentially struggling with memory issues as she asks her driver to chauffeur her past her old TV studio — despite having driven her past it just minutes earlier

Instead, they can only speak with her if she chooses to call them. 

‘The people who love her cannot see her,’ said Williams’ sister Wanda, 65, who is also Alex’s mother. ‘I think the big [question] is: How the hell did we get here?’

Williams’ guardian was instituted in May 2023, but her family members say they don’t know what sparked the legal action, and the guardian’s identity has not been announced, while documents related to their appointment have been sealed.

‘All I know is that Wendy and her team walked into the courtroom one way, and they walked out, and the family is completely excluded,’ Wanda continued.

Williams’ son, Kevin Hunter Jr. — whom she shares with her ex-husband Kevin Hunter — comes under suspicion for allegedly stealing some of her money in the documentary, though he denies it on camera.

‘I’ve never taken [money] without her consent,’ he says in the the film, though Wendy’s sister Wanda claims he is still financially supported by his mother. 

In the documentary, Williams also alleges that her guardian has stolen money from her, though the filmmakers say she provided no evidence to back up her claim.

In February 2022, The Wendy Williams Show announced that its host would not be returning for the rest of the season, and the show was canceled by June.

‘The people who love her cannot see her,’ said Williams’ sister Wanda, 65. ‘I think the big [question] is: How the hell did we get here?’

Her niece Alex said ‘the first sign something was really wrong’ was when Williams fainted on the air while wearing a Statue of Liberty costume in 2017, which she later blamed on her Graves disease

‘Wendy loved doing the show,’ a source in the production told the publication. ‘Losing it just broke her.’

‘We were the little engine that could,’ added another source from the show. ‘When we got renewed each season, we were shocked. They say fish stinks from the head, but if it’s great, fish glows from the head. In this case, we all basked in Wendy’s glow.’

But others said that things weren’t going well behind the scenes, due to Williams alcohol consumption.

‘She would be drunk on air,’ the same source claimed. ‘Slowly, we started being like, “What’s going on with her?”‘

Her niece Alex said ‘the first sign something was really wrong’ was when Williams fainted on the air while wearing a Statue of Liberty costume in 2017, which she later blamed on her Graves disease.

The Wendy William Show co-executive producer Suzanne Bass added: ‘As her situation grew worse, she pushed us away.’

Williams’ family attributed some of her struggles to the anguish caused by her son Kevin going away to college, followed a year later in 2019 by her admission that she was living in a sober house and her divorce filing from Kevin Hunter Sr. after he had a child with another woman.

‘[Wendy’s mom] Shirley, may she rest in peace, would always remind me that your aunt would trade everything that she has — every dime, every car, every wig — to be able to have a strong loving household and a loving husband,’ her niece said. ‘That was ripped from her right after her son had to go off to college [in 2018]. Emotionally, it was just a lot. It was too much for her world.’

Her family said some of her issues were caused by the stress of her son Kevin leaving for college in 2018, followed by her divorce from her husband the following year and the death of her mother; pictured in February 2023 in NYC

Executive producer Mark Ford said the film’s producers got in touch with Williams’ guardian for help after the crew found her at home with her eyes rolled back after allegedly getting drunk

Wendy’s brother Tommy was on the same page, saying, ‘It put her back into that dark space.’

Her sister Wanda claimed that Wendy ‘never grieved’ the death of their mother Shirley — whom she called the host’s ‘greatest advocate and strongest support system out of anybody in this family’ —  in November 2020.

According to the documentary filmmakers, they ultimately stopped filming in April 2023 after documenting a series of disturbing drunken incidents, before finally finding Williams unresponsive in her home with her eyes rolled back into her head.

Executive producer Mark Ford said the film’s producers got in touch with Williams’ guardian to get her help 

‘The guardian did come around and was responsive to our pleas… to get her into a safer place,’ he said.

Her sister Wanda is now shocked that Wendy deteriorated so much in such a short period of time.

‘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?’ she mused. ‘How is that system better than the system the family could put in place? This system is broken.’

However, the publication notes that her family is not contesting her guardianship in court at the moment.

Her family complained about her guardian, whose name has not been revealed, though they are not contesting the arrangement in court

Executive producer Ford ultimately decided the documentary — which Williams also executive produced — was beneficial because it reveals alleged issues with the conservatorship system

The EP Ford described the documentary’s producers wrestling over whether their film would help or hurt Williams, though they ultimately decided that it would be beneficial by revealing alleged issues with the guardianship system governing her.

For now, her family is simply hoping Williams will make enough of a recovery to get back into their lives.

‘There is not a person in this family who doesn’t want the same thing for Wendy, and that is her health,’ her sister Wanda said.

Her niece Alex added: ‘She can’t wait to start the next chapter of her life.’