Wendy Williams makes 1st appearance since wellness center stay: exclusive photos
Wendy Williams sparkled in her first public appearance since her wellness center stay.
Yahoo Entertainment has exclusive photos of the former Wendy Williams Show host, 58, at her one-time radio station's annual WBLS Circle of Sisters event in New York City on Monday.
"Contrary to what the blogs and tabloids want people to believe, Wendy is recovering amazingly well [and] looks fabulous," says her publicist, Shawn Zanotti. "Being in the public eye is truly what Wendy loves."
Williams looked ready to dazzle the crowd in a shimmering low-cut jumpsuit with black furry boots. She had the full glam going as far as makeup and straight blond locks parted down the center.
The TV and radio personality clearly seemed happy to be back commanding attention at the center of the room — the first time in quite a while that she has graced the stage.
Williams, who stepped down from her talk show in 2021 amid health issues which then morphed into a battle over her finances, gabbed with the audience about personal and professional endeavors.
At the start, she talked about having lymphedema, which is tissue swelling, specifically in her feet. "I refuse to get in a wheelchair, though," Williams told the crowd. (She's been photographed by paparazzi using one on different occasions.) She also deals with Graves disease, an autoimmune disease, that causes overstimulation of the thyroid, which can lead to puffy eyes, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia and elevated blood pressure.
Williams also spoke about her messy exit from her talk show, saying that as much as she loved being in her purple chair, she was "ready to do something new with my life. It was really becoming a burden after 14 years..." as the job was so much more than just getting glam to talk to about celebrities. She said helming the show bearing her name took a lot of work. Now, she can do anything she wants, or nothing at all. In the short term, her focus is podcasting — and she said it will finally drop in a few weeks.
While she hosts a podcast, she plans to travel. "I'm going to take a year of my life to fly and do and see things I've never done before ... while I'm young enough," she said.
She went on to share her hope that she'll fall in love again, after her bitter split from Kevin Hunter in 2019, but doesn't ever want to marry again.
"I can't wait to fall in love," Williams said. "I love men... But … I don’t want to get married. I want him to have already had kids. I want him to be someplace around my age — [between] 10 years younger than me and maybe 15 years older than me… And then we’ll be able to do things together, like if we want to all of a sudden want to fly from New York City… to France … for two days to have food or whatever, I want to be able. A man that [said], 'Come on, baby. Let’s do it. Do we fly private or do we fly public?'"
Williams became visibly emotional during the Q&A at the end when someone praised her for being a trailblazer, especially for Black women, and pressing on amid the turmoil and negativity put on her. "There are millions of us behind you holding you up," the person told Williams. "You keep going, Wendy, you don't give up." It took Williams a moment to find the right words, wiping away her tears with a tissue, and she thanked them for their support: "I appreciate you."
She also said it won't be her last sit-down like that one, promising, "I will definitely be back."
