Wendy Williams' Niece Talks About the 'Wall' of Communication Between Them, Causing Months of Radio Silence

Williams' family says the talk show host's legal guardianship requires she calls them on a blocked number, meaning she's been in the dark on "birthdays…holidays" and the hospitalization of her 93-year-old father

Wendy Williams can’t be directly contacted by her family, according to her niece Alex Finnie.

Speaking about her aunt on The View Thursday, Finnie explained the current contact dynamics while Williams, 59, is receiving treatment for cognitive functioning. The conversation came on the same day that the former talk show host's medical team said she has been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

“There were conversations early on in the beginning in terms of with the family and trying to, I guess, gather information to get a hold and a perspective on where she’s at and what they need to know,” Finnie said. “And my mom actually says it in the [Lifetime] documentary, she says it, and all of a sudden there was just this wall that went down and the family was blocked out. It was April of 2022 and the contact from that point on has been so limited.”

Related: Wendy Williams' Family Break Their Silence on Her 'Shocking and Heartbreaking' Struggles Over the Past 3 Years (Exclusive)

Finnie said Williams is required to call her family members from a blocked phone number, meaning they can’t reach out directly to her. “And I say this honestly, we went through birthdays, we went through the holidays, we went through illness,” Finnie added. “There was a period when my grandfather was in the hospital — there was no way to contact her and let her know what was going on with her 93-year-old father.”

Finnie said the latest outreach from Williams came earlier this week but she was out to dinner and missed the phone call. Because Williams' phone number was blocked, Finnie couldn’t call back. “She went into where she is now between April and May of last year,” Finnie said. “We went months before we were finally able to get a call.”

One of their conversations since Williams began attending treatment was over four and a half hours. “I don’t remember who got off the phone first, but it was that feeling of like, when I get off the phone with you, I don’t know if I’m going to hear from you again,” she said. “So I’m going to wait for you to say, ‘I gotta go, bye.’”

On Thursday, Williams’ medical team announced her dementia diagnosis via press release. The two conditions are the same variations that Bruce Willis has previously been diagnosed with.

Related: Inside Wendy Williams' Family's Fight to Free Her from Her Guardianship: 'This System Is Broken' (Exclusive)

“Wendy is still able to do many things for herself,” the team said in a statement. “Most importantly she maintains her trademark sense of humor and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed. She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.”

Of the treatment she’s been receiving, Finnie told PEOPLE The Wendy Williams Show host’s health has been improving. “She sounds really great. 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," she said.

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Where Is Wendy Williams? premieres Saturday at 8 p.m. and concludes at the same time the next day on Lifetime.

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