Wendy Williams has always been one to tell it like it is–wether you like it or not. She’s essentially built her brand on her willingness to talk about pretty much anything, but the daytime talk show host took it to another level when she tearfully revealed she has been living in a sober house.
Williams, 54, has been open about her past struggles with cocaine abuse. She has said she was a “functioning addict” who would sometimes party all night during her days as a brash radio host. But today, she pulled back the curtain fully.
“You know me for being a very open and honest person. You know Kevin and I have the Hunter Foundation for the good of the people and we recently launched out 888-HUNTER number for people who are in the struggle of addiction. Well, for some time now, and even today and beyond, I have been living in a sober house,” a weeping Williams revealed.
“When you see me come to work glammed up, right after the show, I do Pilates … You know I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in the past,” she said. “I never went to a place to get treatment. I don’t know how. God was just sitting on my shoulder and I just stopped … there are people in your family, it might be you … I want you to know more of the story.”
The talk show host revealed that she goes to the facility after work and personal obligations daily and still lives a “glamorous” life despite her struggles.
“After I go to the Pilates I go to several meetings all around town in the tri-state area, and I see my brothers and sisters caught up in their addiction and looking for help,” she said. “They don’t know I’m Wendy. They don’t care I’m Wendy. there’s no autographs, there’s no nothing. It’s the brothers and sisters caught up in the struggle. It’s been really interesting, this ride.”
She continued, “Only Kevin [Hunter, Sr., her husband] and Kevin [Jr., her son] know about this. Not my parents, nobody. I am driven by my 24-hour sober coach back to a home that I live in the tri-state with a bunch of smelly boys who have…
…become my family. And that is my truth.”
But Wendy is not alone.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA), Blacks aged 12 or older, and persons from other racial and ethnic groups were equally likely to need treatment for substance use in the past year. That is, 9.1 percent of blacks (2.6 million persons) and 9.3 percent of persons from other racial and ethnic groups (20.4 million persons) needed treatment for illicit drug or alcohol use. Although blacks were less likely than persons from other racial and ethnic groups to need treatment for alcohol use (6.8 vs. 7.8 percent), they were more likely to need treatment for illicit drug use.