Wendy Williams Kept Her Addiction to Herself Because ‘Nice Girls Don’t Do Cocaine’
Wendy Williams recently shared her life story through a biopic and documentary for Lifetime. During both films, the daytime TV host opened up about her past marriage to Kevin Hunter, her rise to radio fame, and her childhood.
The deal also allowed The Masked Singer alum to shed light on her cocaine addiction. Almost a decade prior, she revealed her truth in her memoir; Wendy’s Got The Heat.
Wendy Williams started to ‘dabble in cocaine’ during her radio career
Williams spent her childhood in the suburbs of Asbury Park, New Jersey. In Wendy’s Got The Heat, she wrote that her parents, Tom Williams and Shirley Williams, sheltered her from the real world growing up.
When she turned 18, the Chicago star moved to Boston. While there, Williams attended Northeastern University. As she continued to climb into the radio scene, she began to make connections with stations all over the country. After a brief time with a Virgin Islands radio station, she took a job with WOL in Washington, D.C., per Closer Weekly. Although the job wasn’t her first choice, Williams was confident that New York would be calling her name soon.
During her time in D.C., the Daytime Emmy nominee yearned to leave the city. Because of her job’s late-night hours, she found herself having trouble sleeping. So, Williams started using cocaine to stay awake at night. Afterward, she would get enough rest to repeat the cycle the next day.
“While in DC, I would send HOT-103 tapes about once a month. I was ready to leave because things were starting to get a little heated for me,” Williams admitted in her memoir. “I had started getting into the dating scene and was beginning to dabble in cocaine.”
Why Wendy Willams denied her cocaine addiction
Throughout her twenties, Williams kept her cocaine addiction a well-kept secret. She would make sure to attend each of her radio shifts, which lasted for four hours. Then, the jock used cocaine until it was late at night. Finally, she slept until 2 p.m. to make her mid-afternoon time slot.
Although she had her partying habits down to a science, Williams didn’t tell the people in her inner circle about her addiction. She shared that she was thankful that her close friends weren’t around to see her physical changes during that time. Additionally, she denied using cocaine when she went on dates.
“[I] always kept my habit to myself because nice girls don’t do cocaine,” Williams wrote. “I knew aesthetically I was still a nice girl. I just had this secret habit.”
“I was a nice girl, with a college background, a college graduation car, a mommy and a daddy, and a room waiting for me in our modest home in rural, suburban New Jersey,” she continued. “I spoke nicely, and I carried myself well—like a real high-society woman. Sh*t, I even went to charm school. I knew which fork to use and had impeccable table manners. I’m the girl you can bring home to your mother.”
Wendy Williams stopped using cocaine after she met Kevin Hunter
Fortunately, Williams’ cocaine use didn’t significantly alter her life. In a 2018 interview with Entertainment Tonight, she described herself as 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 to fire me because I was making ratings,” Williams said. “[A] functioning addict has several alarm clocks; you’re organized. It’s a miracle I was able to stop.”
When she met Hunter at age 29, Williams decided to get sober. In 1997, the couple got married. Three years later, they welcomed their first and only son, Kevin Hunter, Jr. After 22 years of marriage, Williams, who has a net worth of $40 million, filed for divorce due to her ex’s infidelity.
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
