Wendy Williams’ Family Gives Detailed Account Of Her “Heartbreaking” Downward Spiral

Source: Michael Tran / Getty

With the health status of fan-favorite daytime diva Wendy Williams currently being one of the most talked-about “hot topics” in recent times, any update feels like one step closer to finally answering that question burning on the minds of just about everyone: how she doin’?

On the positive side, we can confirm that PEOPLE Magazine just released a cover story that gives the most insightful profile on what’s actually going on with Wendy Williams right now, straight from the mouths of her immediate family. Unfortunately, it’s not the one that fans might’ve been expecting and is probably one of the saddest to date if we’re being honest.

RELATED: The Real Wendy Williams: New Lifetime Doc Trailer Gives Raw Look At Talk Show Queen’s Current Life

Just ahead of the premiere of Lifetime’s two-night, four part docuseries Where Is Wendy Williams? airing this Saturday (February 24), PEOPLE spoke with Wendy’s sister (Wanda Williams), niece (Alex Finnie) and brother (Tommy Williams) to paint a clearer picture of her downward spiral over the past few years while dealing with alcoholism, a breakdown of mental health and separate illnesses that physically affected the appearance of her eyes and legs. “It was shocking and heartbreaking to see her in this state,” says Alex of her aunt, and we can’t help but agree wholeheartedly.

More on the shocking truth of Wendy Williams below, via PEOPLE:

“When the Lifetime documentary crew began filming in August 2022, it set out to follow Williams’ comeback as she prepared to launch a new podcast. The film quickly evolved into something entirely different, as the crew captured Williams (who served as an executive producer on the project) in the throes of alcohol addiction and struggles with health issues including Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause bulging eyes, and lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling in her feet.

A particularly gut-wrenching scene shows Williams — who turns 60 in July — asking her driver to take her past the former Wendy Williams Show studio, forgetting that he had done so only moments earlier.

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

The documentary crew stopped filming Williams in April 2023. That month, she entered a facility to treat “cognitive issues,” her manager and jeweler Will Selby says in the film. Her son reveals in the documentary that doctors have connected these issues to alcohol use.

Williams remains in the facility to this day, and her family says a court-appointed legal guardian is the only person who has unfettered access to her.”

As for that last part, it in fact appears that Wendy Williams has extremely limited contact with the outside world as her family also stated that she can make calls from the facility but can’t receive them. Her sister Wanda told the outlet, “The people who love her cannot see her,” also adding, “I think the big is: How the hell did we get here?”

You can read the full profile over on PEOPLE, in addition to tuning into Lifetime this Saturday (Feb 24) and Sunday (Feb 25) for the two-night docuseries Where Is Wendy Williams? airing at 8/7c. In the meantime, take a look below at what the masses are saying about their fallen media maven:

• Prayers Up: Wendy Williams Diagnosed With Dementia, Primary Progressive Aphasia
• Wendy Williams Back? Ex-TV Host Now “Formerly Retired,” Still Wants Spot On ‘The View’
• Shut ‘Em Down! Wendy Williams Ex-Husband Kevin Hunter Denied Future Alimony Payments