Growing up, chances are you watched Wendy Williams dominate the radio airwaves then be rewarded with her own dominating t.v. show.
For 35 years, Wendy Williams took the media by storm, ending with her winning millions of hearts on her daytime talk show, “The Wendy Williams Show.”
Then in 2021 life at Wendy knew it came to a screeching halt. Not only did Wendy get divorced in 2021 but she was also rudely ousted from her talk show in 2022.
To speak her story, Williams let fans into her hot topic-filled life with a biopic movie called, “Wendy Williams: The Movie,” followed by her eponymous documentary, “What A Mess!”
Insider Reports:
In both projects, the 56-year-old media mogul bares it all, sharing personal struggles that she’s faced throughout her life, including weight challenges that started as a child, cocaine addiction, alleged rape, several miscarriages, and her tumultuous relationship with her now ex-husband and former manager Kevin Hunter.
Wendy Knew She Married The Wrong Man But Kept Going
While her marriage began to publicly unravel several years ago due to alleged infidelity and abuse, Williams told Insider that privately she had been executing her divorce plans for nearly two decades. The two wed in 1997.
When asked at what point in her 21-year marriage she felt like her happiness had become compromised, Williams emphatically said, “the second year because that’s when I finally got successfully pregnant with [my son] young Kevin and gave birth to him.”
“I went into the delivery room knowing in my mind, ‘I’m planning my divorce,'” she continued. “Kevin was a serial cheat. He cheated when I dated him. He cheated when I married him. He cheated while I was on bed rest during the entire nine months of me being pregnant.”
Williams, who finalized her divorce from Hunter in 2019, claimed her ex cheated because he “got too comfortable.” But despite problems at home, Williams said she made a conscious decision to stay because of her now 20-year-old son, Kevin Hunter Jr.
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“I couldn’t [leave] because the bigger the talk show got, and the more I would look into my son’s eyes … the more I decided to give of myself and I figured I’d get it on the back end, so to speak,” the daytime talk show host, who’s set to remain on air until 2022, told Insider.
But after the two became estranged, Williams said she hoped to set a good example for her son.
The Wendy Williams Movie
“I prayed young Kevin would be smarter than his parents and that I would be able to execute the proper divorce and be the proper single mother,” she said.
Still, the talk show host said Hunter “will always be my friend because we must be civil to each other because we are Kevin’s parents.”
“I don’t regret meeting Kevin. I don’t regret falling in love. I don’t regret staying with him for all 25 years — 21 of them married,” Williams added.
Despite going through a very public divorce while filming, Williams was so committed to the authenticity of her biopic that she invited Hunter to travel to Vancouver where they were filming.
“He was definitely invited by me as well as Lifetime, with a promissory note from me that he would not be talked about in any other way, but my truth in the documentary and depicted in any other way but my truth in the movie,” she added.
Still, Lifetime confirmed to Insider that Hunter declined to participate.
As for moving on to her next phase of life now that her son is out of the home and away at college, Williams is wasting no time on getting exactly what she wants.
“At 56 years old, you don’t have too many more chances to get your life together. So, I will continue to be my own best friend until the day I die because only I know what’s best for me,” she said. “My [late] mother didn’t know what was best for me. My sister doesn’t know what’s best. You don’t know what’s best. My bosses never knew what’s best for me. Only I know what’s best for me.”
“I’m extremely happy that I’m still relevant enough that I’m able to come through some pretty … double doors and say, ‘How you doing?’ and still be young, fun, and pop culture relevant,” she added.
MOVIE LESSONS
I am just now watching the movie. Here are my thoughts.
One thing I’ve learned about relationships is that most women go 20 years in and out of relationships. Never respected, because they don’t have a consistent “good man.” But the woman who is married for 20-years, even if being cheated on, as long as the public thinks it’s all good, she’s covered and she wins.
Most men are irrelevant other than being a fake cover to get respect from the world. A woman needs to be covered in this world.
Everything you want is on the other side of FEAR. Wendy decided to stop living in fear and that took her a long way.
Drugs and alcohol make humans fearless. But the key to life is to be fearless in the arms of God. To walk past the fear with FAITH.
Wendy partied, but she still worked hard and never missed a day of work on her come-up.
Wendy didn’t give up on herself no matter what. She showed up, was persistent and created her own luck.
The thing about a man who cheats on you, is that as time goes on, he gets further and further away from you, the more successful you become, the more he needs to feed his ego… Eventually he cheats with the right woman and likes her enough to divorce you or completely stop caring about you, because she’s number one.
So if that’s the lifestyle you choose, I guess you’d better get ready.
Get ready to never give your whole heart. Get ready for when he’s done hiding anything. Get ready to be laughed at.
But I guess it’s better to live the dream for awhile than to never live it at all.
And despite all Kevin did to build Wendy up and tear her down, the minute she wasn’t covered by him, it was open season to cancel her.
And that’s why a woman must always choose a good man and jump ship to a new one when he’s not being good to her.
Men are temporary unless he’s treating you right.
You can’t be a superstar woman with a bad man.
Wendy’s story also reminds me to keep doing things that are in alignment with my heart. She, Kevin Samuels and Tasha K all took a certain path. That path doesn’t seem to end well.
However God bless Wendy Williams. Her business and come-up are extremely inspiring. No judgement. Just lessons.
BLESSINGS IN OTHES LESSONS
Despite the money and fame…. I used to beat myself up because I felt I should be further along. But God looks out for his kids. Many of you are doing great without being a celebrity, knowing a celebrity or having millions in the bank. Keep Going and realize how amazing you are.
And that’s my take on the Wendy Williams movie.