Wendy Williams has revealed her battle with drug addiction and the living conditions she recently had to adopt to keep herself away from drugs.
“You know me for being a very open and truthful person, and I’ve got more to the story for you,” Williams said, tearfully, on The Wendy Williams Show, in a video clip released March 19. “Well, for some time now, and even today and beyond, I have been living in a sober house.”
The revelation brings new light to the mystery of Williams’s absence as host of her own show from the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2019. In media reports, she previously attributed the reason for her absence to Graves’ disease along with a shoulder fracture.
“And you know I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in my past. And I never went to a place to get the treatment. I don’t know how, except God was sitting on my shoulder and I just stopped.”
She said she now attends several meetings a day with other people battling drug addiction. She said that only her husband, Kevin Hunter, and her son, Kevin Hunter, Jr., knew what she was doing.
“Nobody knew, because I look so glamorous out here,” she told the audience.
Sending strength and love to you @WendyWilliams – speaking your truth and showing your struggle and darkness on national television is not for the weak of heart. https://t.co/5M3shXEBLa
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 19, 2019
She continued to explain that she has a 24 hour sober coach, who drives her to the sober home after her meetings. She said she shares the residence with “a bunch of smelly boys.”
The residence has a 10 p.m. curfew, and after she wakes up in the morning, she comes directly from the sober house to host the show.
“Either you’re calling me crazy, or the bravest woman you know, I don’t care,” she said, towards the end of her speech.
She also shared how she and her family have a foundation that helps people in the same situation as her.
Williams is staying in a private residence in Long Island City, Queens, New York, run by the Pure Recovery Network, according to Daily Mail.
@WendyWilliams just admitted to living in a sober house on her show. Say what you want about her but it takes strength and courage to speak your truth. It’s no secret she’s struggles with drug addiction in the past. pic.twitter.com/lMTIO6ng3a
— Eric Perry (@actingeric) March 19, 2019
Daily Mail also reported that the reason she is staying there is due to an alcohol and drug binge that started after she fractured her shoulder in a confrontation with her husband. Williams had reportedly hired a private investigator to find out if her husband was cheating, and then confronted him about the results.
The news outlet said they obtained this information before Williams’s show confession, and that they had contacted her hours earlier for comment.
Daily Mail also wrote that Williams was observed leaving the facility every morning and being taken back there by her husband in the evening.
A source told Daily Mail that Williams entered the facility around Feb. 19. Before that, she was in Florida at a high-end drug rehabilitation facility. The source revealed that Williams was still able to obtain access to alcohol while she was there.
The source shared that the stated reason for her absence from TV was just not true.
“Kevin told the show the stress from work exacerbated her medical conditions,” the source told Daily Mail. “He fed them the same [expletive] she said on TV when she came back, that her Graves’ disease was making her sick. Her Graves’ disease has never been an issue at all.”
Williams began her most recent break from The Wendy Williams Show back in December and didn’t return until March 4. A number of guest hosts filled in for her, including Jason Biggs, Jerry O’Connell, Michael Rapaport, Nick Cannon, Keke Palmer, and Sherri Shepherd.
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, help is available.
For more information visit https://t.co/QWUuSxyDtt or call 1-888-5Hunter (548-6837). pic.twitter.com/umKpaGgtsZ
— Wendy Williams (@WendyWilliams) March 19, 2019
