Wendy Williams says she's back and 'better than ever' after spending almost two months in a rehab facility for 'substance abuse.'
via: The Sun
Several sources close to Wendy, 58, have exclusively revealed to The U.S. Sun that her struggles with alcoholism are so serious that the former daytime TV star was in intensive treatment in a Malibu wellness facility for nearly twice as long as her team previously revealed before her release was announced Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Wendy's rep Shawn Zanotti gave a statement to The U.S. Sun: "We are happy to report that Wendy Williams is home and healing after being in a wellness facility since August."
Wendy's team announced that the host was in treatment in mid-September, but one source explained she had already been at the facility for about a month before that announcement was made.
"Alcohol has been a real struggle for her over the past several years. She is battling severe alcohol abuse mixed with serious health issues," one source close to the star added.
She was being treated for "extreme alcohol abuse. There are no other drugs involved. She has had numerous doctors who have told her for years 'If you drink, you'll die.' She never really wanted to stop and the people around her in New York have allowed her to keep drinking."
After two months in treatment, one source said Wendy has been struggling and her progress has been slow.
"She is doing marginally better. The problem with Wendy is that once she gets the impression that she's better because she doesn't have alcohol in her system that she can just take over the world again. The issue is that her alcoholism and the damage it has done to her health is much more severe than that. She really needed long-term recovery."
A source close to Wendy's family also cautioned that the former host is in no shape to sign contracts or do anything related to business at this point.
"There has been a lot of shuffling and moving Wendy around and there are people who have been using her and using the state that she's in to manipulate her into doing things."
Despite Wendy's statements about launching a podcast and opening a restaurant in recent and often times bizarre interviews, the insider added that her recovery needs to come first.
"Her only focus right now needs to be on her recovery. She continues to struggle with processing issues. She can't be signing any contracts if she can't read or understand them," the source warned.
"She is not in the right state of mind to be signing anything right now," the source added.
Her rep's statement on Tuesday concluded with: "Wendy is excited about the road ahead and looking forward to releasing her many projects. She wants to say 'thank you to my fans for your love, support and many prayers, I am back and better than ever.'"
I'm glad Wendy is in good spirits, and I also love that she went to a facility to get the help she needs. However, I really feel she needs to continue to work on herself before she even thinks about jumping right back into all of her business endeavors.