As she moves forward with her divorce, details on Wendy Williams‘ split from her longtime love and manager Kevin Hunter — who allegedly fathered a child with his mistress — are coming to light.
A source who has spent time with Williams since the breakup tells PEOPLE that the daytime host believes Hunter’s alleged affair has been going on for more than a decade. (The couple has been married for 21 years).
“Wendy is telling people she had no idea he had been having an affair, but when she found out the details, it turned out he had been seeing the woman he had a baby with for 15-16 years,” the source says. “That made her realize it was time to move forward with her life. Seek treatment and move on. She’s not taking him back.”
“It’s hard after being married for so long and having a family together, to be able to move forward,” adds the source of Williams, who shares son Kevin Jr., 19, with Hunter. “But she realized she had to open her eyes to a bad marriage. So many stick around when they should get out.”
Reps for Williams and Hunter did not immediately return PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Williams filed for divorce from Hunter last week after 21 years of marriage. Her personal rep issued a statement to PEOPLE, saying, “Thank you to everyone for respecting the family’s privacy during this time. Kevin is supportive of Wendy and they are working through this process together. No additional comment will be provided at this time.”
On Tuesday, Hunter broke his silence on the split in a statement to PEOPLE.
“28 years ago I met an amazing woman: Wendy Williams. At the time, I didn’t realize that she would not only become my wife, but would also change the face of entertainment and the world,” he said. “I have dedicated most of our lives to the business empire that is Wendy Williams Hunter, a person that I truly love and respect unconditionally.”
“I am not proud of my recent actions and take full accountability and apologize to my wife, my family and her amazing fans,” he continued. “I am going through a time of self-reflection and am trying to right some wrongs. No matter what the outcome is or what the future holds, we are still The Hunter Family and I will continue to work with and fully support my wife in this business and through any and all obstacles she may face living her new life of sobriety, while I also work on mine. I ask that you please give me and my family privacy as we heal. Thank you.”
It’s not the first time the couple has weathered a cheating scandal: Hunter cheated on Williams after she gave birth to their son, a painful period she described in her 2004 memoir Wendy’s Got the Heat.
“The split is definitely due to Kevin’s ongoing infidelity and that his mistress recently welcomed their child,” the source said. “Wendy had hired a private investigator and confronted him. He confessed to everything three weeks ago.”
“All of the recent drama put a huge strain on Wendy and caused her to struggle with her sobriety as she did everything she could to try and save their marriage,” the source continued.
“The decision to split was terribly hard for her, but she’s regaining her health,” the source added. “She decided she needed to finally put herself first.”
The split comes at a challenging time for the star. After taking an extended hiatus from The Wendy Williams Show from January to March, Williams, who has long been open about a past addiction to cocaine, revealed last month that she has been living in a sober house.
On Monday’s broadcast of The Wendy Williams Show, Williams said she would “moving out of the sober house in just a few days” and alluded to her divorce while reflecting on the motto of her Hot Topics segment, “Their business is our business.”
“It’s crazy ’cause now my business is your business,” she said with a laugh. “It’s kind of funny. Turnabout’s a fair game, I get it.”
“I have to tell you, you know, I’ve been dealing with issues with addiction, alcoholism, and I have a whole new life that I planned for myself and my son,” she continued. “Believe me you, when you lay in a room with no TV and four gray walls all day … this is my life in the sober house, it’s one of the best things, honestly, that could have ever happened to me.”
Williams vowed to continue being honest with her fans.
“Addressing my sobriety, my addiction, head-on has really helped me sort out every single compartment of my life,” she said. “I have a commitment to me and my son to come out of here better, stronger and faster than ever. And by the way, I will still commit. … I commit that the motto of this show will always be, ‘Their business is our business.’”
The Wendy Williams Show airs weekdays (check local listings).
Source: Read Full Article