Photo:John Lamparski/WireImage
John Lamparski/WireImage
Wendy Williams’ career and personal life is being covered in Lifetime’s documentaryWhere Is Wendy Williams?, including her marriage to ex-husband Kevin Hunter.
The new documentary, released on Feb. 24, details Williams’ rise to fame as well asher recent healthand legal battles amid theend of her hit talk showThe Wendy Williams Showin 2022.
Though Hunter doesn’t appear in the documentary, many ofWilliams’ family membersdo, includingthe couple’s son Kevin Hunter Jr., asthey discuss her health and well-being. (Hunter has declined to comment.)
Speaking withPEOPLE in this week’s cover story, her family says that the end of her 21-marriage took a huge toll on her. “Emotionally, it was just a lot. It was too much for her world,” Williams' niece Alex tells PEOPLE.
Ahead, here’s everything to know about Williams’ ex-husband andtheir relationship highs and lows.
They reportedly met at a skating rink
Williams and Hunter reportedly first met at a skating rink in 1994. Before meeting Wendy, Hunter owned a beauty parlor, while Wendy was quickly making a name for herself as a radio host.
They got married in 1997
About three years after meeting, Williams and Hunter got married on Nov. 30, 1997. It was the second marriage for Williams, who was previously married to Bert Girigorie for five months before splitting and eventually divorcing in 1995.
He helped her launch her talk show
Despite not having any prior television experience, Hunter became Wendy’s manager and production partner early in their relationship, eventually helping her launchThe Wendy Williams Showin 2008 and serving as an executive producer. They also worked together on a number of other projects, including the game showLove Triangle, for which Williams and Hunter served as co-executive producers.
According to the lawsuit, Hunter — whose role on the syndicated series began in 2007 — received a notice from Debmar-Mercury founder Ira Bernstein informing him that his firing was “effective immediately.” Hunter claimed his employment status changed days after Williams'2019 divorce filing.
They share one son together
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During their marriage, Williams and Hunter welcomed a son,Kevin Hunter Jr., in August 2000. Before giving birth to Kevin, Williams experienced multiple miscarriages, including two that occurred in the second trimester.
“I fought tooth and nail to be a mother,” she said during the 2015 PBS specialAmerican Masters: The Women’s List. “I suffered several miscarriages including two at five months. That’s when you have the clothes already picked out, the nursery is already painted. They ask you: Do you want a funeral or do you want the cremation?”
She continued, “We went through that not once but twice, me and my husband. So our Kevin is a hard-won child. I would’ve loved to have had more children but I don’t want to test my blessing. Being a mother is for me. It’s not for everybody. It’s for me.”
Williams’ son has accompanied her at various events through the years, including herHollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, where the talk show host gave him a sweet shoutout. “He’s always encouraged me to keep it going,” she told PEOPLE at the ceremony. “And never asks me to pull back from anything that I say or that I wear or anything like that. He’s always been very encouraging.”
They had a tumultuous marriage including various cheating scandals
The couple faced various ups and downs in their relationship as Hunter was involved in various cheating scandals. Shortly after she gave birth to their son, Williams admitted she caught Hunter cheating when she overheard a late night phone call with his mistress.Williams saidshe eventually decided to forgive Hunter and that the experience made their relationship “stronger.”
In April 2019, Williamsfiled for divorcefrom Hunter after more than two decades of marriage. The split came after hefathered a child with another woman, which Williams confirmed in an interview withThe New York Times.
“Kevin had a major indiscretion that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life. An indiscretion that I will not deal with,” Williams told the publication. “I never thought that I would be in this position. I’m a very forgiving person, but there’s one thing that I could never be a part of, and that one thing happened.”
During an interview on SiriusXM’sThe Jess Cagle Showin 2021, the talk show host saidher ex was a “serial” cheaterand claimed she knew about his affairs “almost since the beginning” of their 25-year relationship.
They got divorced in 2019
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After Williams’ divorce filing in April 2019, Hunterbroke his silencein a statement to PEOPLE, admitting he was “not proud” of his actions. “I am going through a time of self-reflection and am trying to right some wrongs,” he said at the time, adding that he would continue to “fully support” Williams.
Wendy has ‘no regrets’ regarding her past relationship with Kevin
Though they had a rocky relationship,Williams has said she doesn’t have any regretswhen it comes to their marriage. “I don’t regret meeting Kevin, I don’t regret falling in love, I don’t regret staying with him for all 25 years, 21 of them married," Williams said during a panel promotingWendy Williams: The Moviein January 2021.
That same month, Williams revealed thatshe was still in touch with Hunter. “He calls from time to time… I don’t block his number though, he’s my son’s father,” she toldExtra’s Billy Bush, adding that Hunter “came to mymother’s funeral” in 2020.
Wendy and Kevin’s marriage is addressed in the new Lifetime documentary,Where Is Wendy Williams?
Though Hunter is mentioned in the documentary, he does not appear. However, many ofWilliams’ family membersgive insight into the relationship. Speaking with PEOPLE forthis week’s cover story, her family says that the end of her 21-marriage took a huge toll on her. (Hunter declined to comment for the cover story.)
“[Wendy’s mom] Shirley, may she rest in peace, would always remind me that, ‘Your aunt would trade everything that she has — every dime, every car, every wig — to be able to have a strong loving household and a loving husband’," said Williams' niece Alex. “That was ripped from her right after her son had to go off to college [in 2018]. Emotionally, it was just a lot. It was too much for her world.”
Williams' brother, Tommy, agreed, adding, “It put her back into that dark space."
source: people.com
