Here’s Wendy! She is a big name in Hollywood thanks to her hit talk show. Williams, however, doesn’t want to be viewed as a superstar when she is at home. She tells New York Family about her life as a mom and wife.
Challenges of being Wendy
“The big challenges are mostly personal—I have a 15-year-old and I’ve been married for 17 years to my husband, who’s also one of the executive producers on the show and he’s my manager. While my husband and I work together, and I’m the ‘star’ of the family, I don’t like to be that way at home. It’s not really a challenge, but it’s something that is definitely done purposefully… I don’t want to be ‘Wendy Williams’ to my son. When I pick him up from school or drop him off or have to go in for guidance counselor meetings or whatever it is, I don’t want to be ‘Wendy Williams’—I just want to be ‘Wendy Hunter,’ that’s my marital name, and ‘Kevin’s mom.’ That’s not a challenge, only because I’m not as enamored with celebrity as perhaps a lot of celebrities are.”
Her parenting philosophies
“I think the main thing you have to understand as a parent is that it’s you against them. Don’t let [the kids] divide you. I’m over it when my son says to me: “Don’t tell daddy!” Every once in a while I don’t tell daddy, depending on what it is, just like I’m sure he has conversations with his dad where it’s guy stuff. But when it comes to detrimental stuff—’You got a D on a test and you don’t want me to tell daddy?’—it’s like: ‘Oh no, I’m telling! And I’m going to tell you right now that I’m telling, and you will not divide me and your father!'”
About Kevin Jr.
“There are a few things that have eased up now that Kevin is 15 and a sophomore in high school… I’m [feeling like]: ‘Oh, he’s about to leave home now. He doesn’t need me for as many things as he used to…’ When he stays after school for extra help, it’s not even me swooping down on the situation and being involved, it’s Kevin being smart enough to know that he needs to ask for extra help. I think my job might be almost over, even though they say you never stop being a parent… His grades are really good and he’s got a good vocabulary and he really doesn’t ask me for a lot, which, on one hand is great because I find more time to lay on the couch and watch ‘Inside Edition,’ but, on the other hand… You never stop being a parent, but where does the time go?”
On her miscarriages
“I was five months pregnant when I had my first [miscarriage]. It turns out that what I had was a weak cervix…I had two five-month miscarriages, and [the babies] both had names and the nurseries were set up for both; those were babies. I was on the radio, at that time, in Philadelphia, and I was a popular disc jockey and I had already gone out and done appearances—people saw me with the belly and had heard me talking about it! Then I had the miscarriage and it was like: ‘Okay, let’s talk about it! Come on, girls!’ Turns out, girls all over were like: ‘This happened to me! And that happened to me…’ So I say talk about it, and talk about it often when it’s appropriate, because the only way that we get stronger and more knowledgeable as women is if we stop being such bald-faced liars and stop acting like everything’s perfect.”
Advice for new moms
“My advice to women and to mothers is: Share stuff if your kid goes through something—whether it’s substance abuse or you bought him condoms or you caught her with condoms! If moms talked more, when appropriate and with the right listening ear, we’d be a lot better.”
Life after the ‘Wendy Williams Show’
“I’m not going to be doing my talk show until forever, nor do I want to—it’s wonderful and it’s fabulous, but all good things come to an end—and when my time is up, what I want to retire into is philanthropic endeavors. The seed is now planted for the Hunter Foundation, so hopefully, by the time my time is up on talk, our foundation will be larger and we’ll be able to do more—to send kids not just to summer camp, but to college.”
Photo: Getty Images
