Wendy Williams has largely stayed out of the spotlight over the past year, but she’s now offering a rare glimpse into her life at an assisted living facility in New York.
In a recent interview with the New York Post, the former television host reflected on her life since stepping away from The Wendy Williams Show in 2021 following diagnoses of aphasia and dementia.
Williams has been residing at Coterie, a luxury assisted living facility, since 2023 while continuing her efforts to end her conservatorship. She spoke candidly about the restrictions of her current living situation, which reportedly costs up to $25,000 per month.
“There’s grass, trees, two floors, no cars around. Can’t even do the elevator to go down. It, too, is locked. I once was a connoisseur of food, and now sometimes I’ll just have meals in my room. And I don’t drink,” she said. “And I’m 61. And mine is a locked floor. And there’s also an in and out hospital. There’s always security with me. Look, I go to church every Sunday. It’s the Christian Cultural Center — 10 a.m. I go with a personal aide. … Understand, I did a daily TV show 14 years. This watching over me also deals with dresses. I was tall. Looking gorgeous. Now all my good stuff’s in storage.”
Williams also revealed that she spends much of her time writing in a notebook and maintaining a limited exercise routine.
“Best I can do is Monday and Friday I go to the gym. Let me tell you something else — and that is that I don’t know exactly how, what, why, but I have gone through a lot of shi t,” she added.
The interview marks one of Williams’ most detailed public updates since speaking with The Cut last year. At the time, she described the assisted living facility as a “dump” and expressed frustration about being housed in a memory care unit alongside residents significantly older than her. She also said she had requested to be transferred to another floor.
Last year, Williams’ attorney, Joe Tacopina, stated that she has “alcohol-induced dementia,” noting that her condition is not expected to progressively worsen in the same way as more typical forms of dementia.
