Inside Wendy Williams' History With Drug Addiction

Talk show host Wendy Williams has never shied away from discussing any topic, and that includes her own history with drug addiction.

While Williams is currently promoting a new Lifetime biopic and documentary about her life, there are a few particular low points that she has previously shared with her fans surrounding her struggles with addiction.

In March 2019, Williams revealed on The Wendy Williams Show that she was living in a sober house. She told the audience (via People), "You know I've had a struggle with cocaine in the past. I never went to a place to get treatment ... there are people in your family, it might be you ... I want you to know more of the story."

According to NBC News, the TV personality said that every day after filming her show in New York City, she would go to various meetings with others struggling with addiction. Her sober coach would then drive her to the sober home where she was staying.

However, a week after she made that announcement on her show, the Daily Mail reported that she was hospitalized after she was found drunk and checking out of the sober facility.

Williams got the help she needed, but that wasn't the first time that she struggled with sobriety. In fact, she said it best herself to her audience, "once you're a substance abuser, you have to battle that for the rest of your life."

TV personality Wendy Williams had been struggling with cocaine addiction for years before she found fame with The Wendy Williams Show. 

The former radio host told People in March 2019 that she had discovered drugs while in college at Boston's Northeastern University, but didn't feel like it was a problem until she landed her dream job as a DJ for a New York City radio station. She recalled, "I was making $60,000 a year, and at $35 a gram, cocaine was cheap. I was a young Jersey girl turning the city upside down. I wanted to live on the edge."

Once Williams found success in radio, she said she became a functioning addict. "I would report to work on time and I walked in and all of my coworkers, and including my bosses, would know but instead of firing me, you see, I would grab my headphones and arrogantly walk into the studio and dare them fire me because I was making ratings," she told Entertainment Tonight in July 2018.

The media personality said she finally decided to quit drugs when she was 29 after losing more than a decade to abuse and meeting husband Kevin Hunter. She explained to People, "I decided to step back and take an assessment of my life. Somehow I hadn't gotten caught up in handcuffs or shamed my parents. I had just met this new guy. I said, 'Count your blessings, Wen. It's time to stop.'"

TV star Wendy Williams continues to speak openly about her drug addiction so she can help others who may also be struggling.

She told Cosmopolitan in July 2018 that she's now making up for those 10-plus years she lost to her addiction. "I don't talk about it because I was outed, I talk about it because I'm Wendy and this is my truth. Besides, I got out of it. It's not how far you fall, it's how you get up," she said.

The TV host even founded a nonprofit called The Hunter Foundation that "provides grants for drug education, prevention and rehabilitation programs." She created a PSA for the organization where she encouraged addicts to seek help, saying in part "there is hope. I'm living proof."

Williams to this day has no regrets about her past but instead believes it made her the woman she is today. She told her audience on The Wendy Williams Show (via People), "It's been almost 15 years since I smoked last from a crack pipe. ... Without being that girl, I wouldn't be the woman that I am today. So if it makes any sense to you, I have no regrets." She added, "I'm one of the lucky ones."

Williams is definitely one of the lucky ones, but as are the other addicts she continues to help by being open with her history with drug addiction.  

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse and mental health, please contact SAMHSA's 24-hour National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).