WENDY Williams has celebrated her 60th birthday on Thursday.
While the milestone birthday should be a moment of jubilation, the former talk show host’s life has been in a tailspin since being placed under financial guardianship by a New York judge in May 2022.
In May 2023, Wendy Williams entered a facility to treat “cognitive issues” amid her struggles with alcohol addiction.
At the time, a source told The U.S. Sun that her son Kevin Jr, 23, did not know where she was and that he could only get calls from his mom and could not call her.
Around the same time, Wendy’s sister Wanda and niece Alex Finnie broke their silence on her “heartbreaking” struggles, telling People a court-appointed legal guardian was the only person who had total access to her.
In June 2024, Wendy’s best friend Regina Schell revealed she believes the outspoken star has been forced into silence after not hearing from her publicly in over a year.
A source exclusively told the U.S. Sun, “Wendy’s birthdays have always been a big deal, and it’s really sad that her nearest and dearest can’t see her or even speak to her for her milestone 60th.”
They continued, “Wendy has really only spoken to her sister, father, and her son Little Kev, since she’s been away since May of last year and they have to wait for Wendy to call them.”
“It’s a really sad state of affairs on what should be such a joyous day for her,” the insider added.
SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT
Last month, during her first-ever long-form interview, Regina, Wendy’s best friend of 44 years, who lived with her throughout the summer of 2022, questioned what was going on with her famous pal.
“I want people to know that Wendy is a real person, and this is not some karma is a b***h thing,” Regina began about the star’s days of dishing on celebrities as host of The Wendy Williams Show.
“Talking is Wendy’s life, her whole claim to fame is talking, and I don’t think she would be this quiet unless she was forced to be quiet,” the star’s decades-long friend alleged.
Wendy Williams ‘had $55M in bank’ before guardian took over & told her she had ‘no money’ left, court docs claim
Meanwhile, another insider close to Wendy mentioned that the star was publicly vocal about how she found the guardianship she is in to be problematic before disappearing from the public in May of last year.
“There is no way in hell that she would not have responded to that Lifetime documentary, with all her family members appearing in it,” the insider claimed.
“Wendy would have had something to say about all of that, without a doubt.”
LIFETIME DOCUMENTARY
The Lifetime Network aired the investigative docu-series, Where is Wendy Williams? this past February.
The four-part series provided an inside look at Wendy’s life in recent years, including her battle with alcohol, her health and cognitive decline, and the guardianship she has been under.
In the series, the TV personality was shown breaking down in tears as she struggled with both mental and physical illness amid the cancellation of her talk show series.
“Since I was six years old, all I wanted was to be famous,” Wendy told cameras, as footage showed the former radio host at the peak of her career.
The New York native was shown looking healthy and happy as she greeted hundreds of excited fans.
Wendy’s birthdays have always been a big deal, and it’s really sad that her nearest and dearest can’t see her or even speak to her for her milestone 60th.”
The U.S. Sun
She was shown on the Wendy Williams Talk Show stage with an adoring audience and at the ceremony for her star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame before the video took a turn and revealed Wendy in her current state for the first time since her guardianship began in 2022.
Wendy was shown sitting in the backseat of a black vehicle, her face appearing more gaunt than ever before.
A producer asked, “Have you seen a neurologist?” to which the star replied, “To see if I’m crazy? Mhm.”
The former radio host was captured struggling while on set and needing assistance to stand.
One of Wendy’s male family members stated, “She was put in front of a judge and given a guardian.
“That was when they took her away from us.”
Back in a confessional, the TV personality sent fans a message of warning as she exclaimed, “I have no money.”
“And let me tell you something, if it happens to me, it can happen to you.”
WHERE’S THE MONEY?
Wendy reportedly had $55 million in the bank before her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, took over her finances and told her the star she had no money left, per court documents.
In an affidavit submitted to a New Jersey court and exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun, Wendy’s best friend Regina Schell claimed to have seen the star’s Wells Fargo bank statements.
“In July of 2022, Wendy invited me to stay with her in New York City for an extended period,” Wendy’s childhood friend claimed in the affidavit.
“During that visit, Wendy expressed to me that she wished to explore options regarding her estate, specifically a possible change with her current financial institution.
“Wendy has really only spoken to her sister, father, and her son Little Kev, since she’s been away since May of last year and they have to wait for Wendy to call them.”
The U.S. Sun
“She also shared with me documents from Wells Fargo showing a cumulative balance of nearly $55 million.”
Regina then claimed that in December of that year, she was invited to join Wendy in a meeting with another bank.
“Wendy had scheduled an appointment with Bank of America’s Private Banking Group, which included the senior vice president, private client advisor, wealth strategy, market director, and several others to outline the best products available,” she wrote to the court.
“I remained present during the entire presentation,” she added.
“Following the meeting, I witnessed Wendy handing the Bank of America proposals and documents to Ms. Morrissey as we were all in the same vehicle [to] drive to the courthouse,” she continued.
Just days later, after returning to her California home, Regina revealed she received “an urgent call from Wendy’s then-publicist.”
“The publicist claimed to have overheard a conversation between Wendy and Ms. Morrissey, whereas Ms. Morrissey gave Wendy the unfortunate news that there is no money in Wendy’s accounts,” the pal continued in her court affidavit.
“In disbelief, I immediately contacted Ms. Morrissey. Ms. Morrissey and I have been in regular contact, and I fully expected her to tell me there was some sort of miscommunication, but instead, I was blocked from all communication with her and denied access to my beloved friend,” Regina wrote.
“May 1 of 2023 was the last time I spoke with Wendy,” the friend said before signing the document with the disclaimer, “I hereby affirm that the foregoing statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.”
Regina submitted the affidavit in Wendy’s ex-husband Kevin Hunter’s divorce case.
COURT BATTLE
Kevin continues to battle the guardian in court.
This has been since his agreed-to severance payments in their divorce suddenly ceased when Wells Fargo froze Wendy’s accounts and guardian, Sabrina, took over the former TV host’s affairs.
Wendy’s ex-husband, who was also her The Wendy Williams Show executive producer, has accused the guardian of depleting the host’s finances in a court hearing in April.
The explosive hearing happened in divorce court over financial matters.
“It’s a really sad state of affairs on what should be such a joyous day for her.”
The U.S. Sun
kevin has been back in court after his divorce payments from the star ceased in 2022 when Wendy’s bank, Wells Fargo, froze her accounts.
The former TV exec and father-of-two has been working to get Wendy’s financial records from when they divorced through her being placed under a guardianship.
Kevin has argued that the records are needed for his discovery to bolster his argument that payments should resume.
During the hearing, Kevin brought up a case in which Sabrina was named as a defendant and was accused of being involved in a racketeering scheme involving another ward who is not under her guardianship.
The judge then told Kevin that despite any allegations against guardian Sabrina, that doesn’t make this case an emergent matter.
DIGGING DEEPER
During her interview with The U.S. Sun, Regina asked several pressing questions regarding Wendy’s vanishing from the public – the TV personality was last seen publicly in May 2023.
“Where is Wendy and why is no one asking that question? And why is no one answering that question? Why can’t they produce Wendy, or an actual statement from Wendy, or a picture of Wendy? Where is Wendy?!” Regina demanded.
“I haven’t spoken to my friend, who I spoke to five times a day, in over a year now.”
Regina explained that during the summer of 2022, as it became clear Wendy was losing her wildly popular daytime talk show while she battled myriad health issues, she was staying with the TV host at her penthouse apartment in New York City.
“I stayed with Wendy on and off for that entire summer, from June of 2022 until August.
“I left and I went home briefly and came back in September, and then she came out to California in October and I went back to New York in December.
“I spent the majority of the year with her,” Regina claimed.
Wendy’s New York apartment was unceremoniously sold at a loss in recent months as Wendy remains somewhere “receiving the care she requires,” according to a statement released by her guardian Sabrina Morrissey via a public relations flack in February of this year.
‘HOW DID WE GET HERE?’
In February, Wendy’s big sister, Wanda told People, “The people who love her cannot see her.”
“I think the big question is, ‘How the hell did we get here?'” she added.
Wendy’s family claimed at the time that the only person who had unfettered access to the star, or knew where she was, was her court-appointed guardian Sabrina Morrissey.
“All I know is that Wendy and her team walked into the courtroom one way, and they walked out, and the family is completely excluded,” Wanda told the outlet.
Regina echoed the sentiments of Wendy’s family, “I think she should be surrounded by family and friends and people who love and support her, instead of some stranger who has her who knows where.”
She also questioned how Wendy, who she spoke to numerous times a day, hadn’t called her in over a year since vanishing from the spotlight.
“She’s somewhere that she can’t reach a phone because Wendy can always get to a phone, because if she could get to a phone, she’d be calling me.”
Regina further wondered, “What is the end game? How does this end when her money is gone? Where is she?
“It’s got a sinister vibe to it. That’s what gets me. There’s something about it that just doesn’t feel right.
“There’s no sign of her beyond a statement that was made which doesn’t sound like her at all, and why hasn’t a medical team come forward to talk about her dementia diagnosis?”
Wendy Williams Alcohol-Related Brain Damage, Aphasia & Frontotemporal Dementia Diagnoses
By The U.S. Sun’s Senior Reporter Jessica Finn, who has reported on Wendy Williams for the past seven years.
As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported, Wendy Williams was diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage in 2019 during a rehab stint in Florida.
An insider explained that a brain scan was done as part of Wendy’s rehab stay in Delray Beach.
A neurologist sat down with the star, her son, and her then-husband, Kevin Hunter Sr.
“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 said.
“She was warned then and there that if she continued to drink, the damage would only get worse.”
In that meeting, they gave Wendy a devastating prognosis.
The doctors at the rehab foretold of the eventual decline of Wendy’s cognitive abilities, which have become apparent to those who have come in contact with the star in recent years.
“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 source said.
After a comment call was sent to Wendy’s team, they released a statement saying Wendy had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in 2023.
“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,” the statement read.
WENDY’S GUARDIANSHIP
In early 2022, Wendy’s bank, Wells Fargo, filed a petition to hold a guardianship hearing for Wendy, and the star was locked out of her bank accounts.
Wendy’s attorney at the time claimed Wells Fargo was in “possession of several million dollars’ worth of funds” belonging to the talk show host, and she had been denied access to her funds for weeks.
In the filing, the star’s lawyer said that Wendy’s former financial advisor advised the bank that Wendy “was of unsound mind,” and as a result, Wells Fargo had denied her access to her accounts and statements.
In response, the bank referenced its authority to “pause or reject instructions for a proposed transaction, pending judicial or administrative remedies, should they suspect financial exploitation, dementia, or undue influence.”
The bank then moved to petition the court for a guardianship for Wendy.
Wendy was placed in a court-appointed guardianship under attorney Sabrina Morrissey, who The U.S. Sun first exclusively revealed.
Now, two years later, Wendy’s family including her brother, Tommy, and her sister, Wanda, have claimed they do not know where the star is, and that they only know she is in a rehab facility.
The family has alleged that they cannot call Wendy but she can only call them and that her court-appointed guardian, Sabrina, is the only person who knows where she is.
