Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | February 22, 2024
A sad update about Wendy Williams’ health. This morning, Wendy’s care team announced she’d been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. These are the same conditions Bruce Willis struggles with.
The statement starts off by explaining that Wendy’s team’s aim is to “correct inaccurate and hurtful rumors” about her health. It continues:
As Wendy’s fans are aware, in the past she has been open with the public about her medical struggles with Graves’ Disease and Lymphedema as well as other significant challenges related to 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.In 2023, after undergoing a battery of medical tests, Wendy was officially diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) … [they] have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life.
Aphasia is a disorder usually caused by damage to the part of the brain that controls language and comprehension. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an umbrella term for a group of brain disorders caused by the degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain. People diagnosed with FTD are typically younger than those with Alzheimer’s. Wendy is 59 and Bruce Willis is 67.
Wendy’s team says receiving a diagnosis has enabled her “to receive the medical care she requires.” Yesterday, her family revealed to PEOPLE that Wendy had been living in a facility since last April. Because of Wendy’s court-appointed guardianship, the family isn’t allowed to reach out to her, but she can call them whenever she wants.
The statement continues:
The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding, particularly when they begin to exhibit behavioral changes but have not yet received a diagnosis.
Wendy’s fans first became concerned with her health in 2017, when she famously collapsed during the Halloween episode of her show. In 2018, she attributed the incident to Graves’ disease. Then, she revealed she’d been struggling with alcohol addiction and living in a sober house. In 2022, Wendy was appointed a legal guardian to control her financial and health decisions. Later that year, Wendy lost her show amid rumors of erratic behavior.
Next week, Lifetime is airing Where Is Wendy Williams?,, a documentary filmed between August 2022 and April 2023 (that’s when she was admitted to the facility). The trailer shows Wendy struggling with her mental health, alcohol addiction, and her memory.
In their interview with PEOPLE, Wendy’s family claimed that doctors had attributed her cognitive issues to alcoholism. And while Google says alcohol abuse can damage your frontal lobes, this paper from 2021 claims the connection isn’t well studied: “there is not much evidence supporting the idea that heavy alcohol consumption or alcoholism leads to FTD.”
FTD and aphasia tend to progress over time. There’s no cure, but certain medicines, treatments, and therapy can help manage symptoms. People with the disorder typically live six to eight years after the start of their symptoms. How devastating.
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022 and FTD in 2023. Last October, Moonlighting creator Glenn Gordon Caron revealed Bruce was “not totally verbal” and his “joie de vivre is gone.” Recently, Bruce’s ex-wife Demi Moore said he was “doing very well,” given his circumstances:
“I think, given the circumstances, he's doing very well. What I'll share is what I say to my children, which it's important to just meet them where they're at and not hold on to what isn't, but what is.” — @justdemi shares an update on Bruce Willis. pic.twitter.com/jXPQu7J3nW
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 31, 2024
Dementia: it f*cking sucks.
