Wendy Williams was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and primary progressive aphasia.
Wendy, 59, was diagnosed last year, according to a press release on Thursday.
Her medical team said the conditions “have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life.”
FTD causes nerve damage in the frontal and temporal lobes, which control memory, empathy, judgment, conduct, and spatial orientation, such as knowing where you are.
Aphasia affects speech and the ability to understand language.
Actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with the same type of dementia in 2022.
The news comes a day after People.com published an interview with Wendy’s family members who say they don’t know where she is.
“We’ve all seen the images over the last few months and, really, few years of what has seemed like a spiral for my aunt,” Wendy’s niece, Miami news anchor Alex Finnie said. “It was shocking and heartbreaking to see her in this state.”
According to People, Williams is in an undisclosed cognitive care facility.
Wendy’s sister Wanda Finnie (Alex’s mom) said that Williams can call the family, but family members can’t call her and they don’t where she is.
“The people who love her cannot see her,” Wanda told People.
Wells Fargo froze her bank accounts after her financial adviser at the time alleged that she was of “unsound mind,” according to Wendy’s court filings.
A judge appointed a guardian to oversee her finances. Her family members say they don’t know why the court made the decision.
“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 People.
Wanda said Wendy’s adult child, Kevin Hunter Jr., knows where she is.
Kevin Jr., 23, was accused of financially exploiting his mother. He was kicked out of his $2 million Miami Beach apartment.
“I’ve never taken [money] without her consent,” Kevin Jr. said in the Lifetime documentary, titled “Where is Wendy Williams?”
Wanda Finnie said Kevin Jr. is still financially supported by his mother.
Wendy’s talk show was canceled n 2022 due to her ongoing mental and medical issues.
After multiple rotating guest hosts, Wendy’s talk show was replaced by the program “Sherri” featuring Sherri Shepherd in the same timeslot in September 2022.
The 2-part on Lifetime documentary, “Where is Wendy Williams?” will air on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 24 and 25.
