Wendy Williams Has 'Holes in Her Brain' From 'Alcohol-Related' Damage, Insiders Claim
The decline of Wendy Williams' health begun well before her dementia and aphasia diagnosis.
According to insiders close to the ex-The Wendy Williams Show host, 59, her reported alcohol abuse took a significant toll on her brain in the years leading up to her shocking health revelation.
Per one source, Williams, her ex-husband, Kevin Hunter Sr., and their son, Kevin Hunter Jr., were first made aware of the alcohol-related brain damage in 2019 when the former daytime diva was at a rehabilitation center in Florida.
"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 insider claimed.
"She was warned then and there that if she continued to drink, the damage would only get worse," the source alleged.
"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 of what eventually ended up coming to fruition.
A second source from the Chicago star's inner circle claimed Williams was in denial about how severe her condition was. "I was told that Wendy had holes in her brain from drinking and it was told to me in front of her," the insider claimed.
"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 source added.
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Due to Williams' Graves disease and Lymphodema, the effects of her constant drinking had a more severe impact. "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 claimed.
The former radio jockey's 23-year-old son previously spoke out about his mother's condition and how her vices were not allowing her to improve. "Any time you do something excessive, it could lead to death. It's gotten to a point where yes, it could have that effect," he said in a 2023 interview.
"But it affects her way worse than a normal person because it stays in her system," Hunter Jr. continued. "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."
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On Thursday, February 22, Williams' team confirmed she had officially been diagnosed with dementia and aphasia after years of her declining health.
"In 2023, after undergoing a battery of medical tests, Wendy was officially diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Aphasia, a condition affecting language and communication abilities, and frontotemporal dementia, a progressive disorder impacting behavior and cognitive functions, have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy's life," the statement said in part.
The US Sun spoke with sources close to Williams.