Wendy Williams Has Been Diagnosed With Primary Progressive Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia

Ever since Wendy Williams's self-named talk show ended without her in June 2022— capping off 13 years on the airwaves — fans are eager to know how she's been. Wendy missed out on the entirety of The Wendy Williams Show’s final season because of health issues, according to Variety. In her stead, the syndicated show was anchored by various guest hosts, including Sherri Shepherd whose talk show, Sherri, took over Wendy’s time slot on Fox-owned-and-operated stations.

Since her show ended, Wendy has remained largely out of the limelight and is often described as a recluse. In February 2024, Lifetime announced the release of a documentary about the former talk show host which will focus on the struggles she has faced both privately and publicly. Where is Wendy Williams? promises to answer more than a few questions. How is Wendy doing? Here's what we know.

According to a statement released by Wendy's PR team, she was diagnosed with "primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD)," after several medical tests were administered in 2023. "Aphasia, a condition affecting language and communication abilities, and frontotemporal dementia, a progressive disorder impacting behavior and cognitive functions, have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy's life."

Her decision to go public was so she could raise awareness about both conditions, but also to give fans a better understanding of what Wendy has been dealing with. In a perfect world, this will lead to more compassion and less judgment. In the meantime, Wendy is still able to perform many tasks on her own and is "maintaining her trademark sense of humor" while receiving the best care possible.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, Wendy's sister Wanda Finnie said she is "in a wellness, healing type of environment." Wendy is apparently in some kind of facility being treated for her cognitive issues, but Wanda told the outlet they speak "regularly."

"She sounds really great," Alex chimed in. "To hear my aunt now in terms of just how clear she is, just how focused she is on the importance of family and the reality in terms of facing and understanding where she's at physically and mentally and emotionally, it is like a 180."

In the trailer for the Lifetime documentary, which is executive produced by Wendy, she mentions seeing a neurologist to "see if she's crazy," while her son expresses concerns regarding her health.

Scenes shift from Wendy confidently standing on the set of her old show, to requiring help in order to walk. "I have no money," says Wendy. "I'm gonna tell you something if it happens to me, it could happen to you." It is intimated that Wendy has issues with alcohol which is causing her family great pain. When her financial issues are brought up, Wendy walks away. We learn that she has apparently been placed under a guardianship of some kind.

"My thing is, I've been asking questions about my money," said Wendy in an Instagram video from March 2022. "And when I began asking questions about my money, suddenly Lori Schiller has got no response regarding my money." Wendy goes on to accuse Lori and Wells Fargo of drafting a guardian petition intent upon "keeping her away from her money."

Eight months after this video dropped, Lori told Page Six her life has been incredibly difficult.

"I have 24-hour armed police officers outside of my house kind of vetting everyone that comes to my front door," she told the outlet. "It’s starting to affect my life. I’m a prisoner in my own home." Lori also said Wendy never fired her and the two of them have had "all positive" exchanges since they began working together in 2010.

Lori did confirm there is a guardianship which was filed by Wells Fargo due to a "'pattern' of behavior that made issues 'apparent.'" The guardian "serves as a conduit between Williams and Wells Fargo. The Wendy Williams Experience author has access to her money that is meant to support her livelihood, but the guardian will object to a request that appears to be from someone exerting 'undue influence' over Williams," reported Page Six.

Unfortunately, the only person able to reach Wendy is the mysterious guardian whose identity has been kept secret from the former daytime TV host's family. They are only able to communicate with Wendy if she contacts them.

"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. The good news is, Wanda said Wendy sounds much better than she did in the documentary. They don't know what's happening, but they've seen improvement.