Wendy Williams Has Been Diagnosed With Aphasia and Dementia

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Wendy Williams and her team have finally addressed the rumors surrounding her health struggles, revealing that the talk show host has been diagnosed with aphasia and dementia.

Aphasia, the condition that actor Bruce Willis has also been diagnosed with, is a language disorder that makes communication difficult, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The disorder essentially makes it difficult to understand and express oneself, resulting in the inability to effectively communicate with language. Aphasia tends to develop following a stroke and affects both men and women, typically in their middle age.

According to a February 22 press release, Williams’s aphasia has “already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life.” That said, Williams’s team said, “There is hope that with early detection and far more empathy, the stigma associated with dementia will be eliminated, and those affected will receive the understanding, support, and care they deserve and need.”

Williams rose to fame hosting and starring in her eponymous talk show from 2008 to 2021. Viewers began to express concern about the talk show host’s health when she fainted on-air in 2017. Rumors were further fueled by Williams’s extended health breaks in 2019 and 2020 and the show’s final culmination in 2021, prompting fans to speculate about her cognitive state.

Still, Williams has been open about her health, which the 59-year-old’s care team noted in the release. Williams discussed her experience living with Graves' disease on The Wendy Williams Show in 2018 and revealed her lymphedema diagnosis during a 2022 segment on TMZ Live.

However, the rumors persisted, leading Williams’s team to make an official statement on her health.

“Over the past few years, questions have been raised at times about Wendy’s ability to process information and many have speculated about Wendy’s condition, particularly when she began to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions,” they said. They explained that Williams was “officially diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD)” after undergoing a battery of medical tests.

Williams’s care team also explained that the decision to share this difficult news was “in part to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy” but also to raise awareness about aphasia and dementia.

“Wendy is still able to do many things for herself. 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,” her team concluded. “She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.”

Wendy Williams’s forthcoming docuseries, Where Is Wendy Williams?, airs on Lifetime on Saturday, February 24, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

Danielle Sinay is the associate beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her on Instagram @daniellesinay.

Originally Appeared on Glamour