Wendy Williams isn’t letting her ongoing health battle dull her sparkle.
“She’s still Wendy,” a source exclusively reveals of the former Wendy Williams Show host, 60, in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “Her conversations are just as rhythmic and her mindset is open.”
In February 2024, Williams publicly revealed that she was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia the year prior. She explained that she was tested after her memory began to fail and as she started to “lose words” and “act erratically.”
“Receiving a diagnosis has enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires,” Williams’s rep said in a statement at the time. “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.”
Wendy Williams Makes Rare Public Appearance at Son Kevin’s Graduation
The former show host rarely appeared in public after disclosing her condition. In August 2024, she was seen with son Kevin Hunter Jr. at a holistic store in New Jersey. Williams shares Kevin Jr. with ex-husband, Kevin Hunter. (The pair were married for 20 years before Williams filed for divorce in April 2019. Their divorce was finalized in January 2020.)
Four months later, Williams attended Kevin Jr.’s college graduation in Miami in December 2024. During her son’s milestone event, Williams was photographed using a mobility scooter.
The insider explains that Williams occasionally utilizes the device to get around due to her battle with lymphedema, a type of tissue swelling caused by an accumulation of fluid that’s usually drained through the body’s lymphatic system, per the Mayo Clinic. (Williams previously opened up about living with the condition in 2019.)
While Williams currently lives with multiple health struggles, the source shares that “she’s content and happy to be with her family.”
In addition to relying on her family, Williams is also “very self-sufficient,” per the insider. Since Williams’ sold her New York City penthouse last year, the TV personality is looking forward to enjoying a fresh start somewhere new.
Wendy Williams Diagnosed With Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia
“Wendy is ready to move to Florida and live there permanently,” the source tells Us. “She’s excited and looking forward to moving.”
One month before Williams appeared at her son’s graduation, the talk show host’s court-appointed guardian, Sabrina E. Morrissey, said in a November 2024 filing that Williams had become “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and legally incapacitated” amid her battle with early-onset dementia.
For more on Williams, watch the video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
