Wendy Williams wanted a divorce 2 years after 21 years of marriage

• Wendy Williams spoke with Insider ahead of her new biopic, “Wendy Williams: The Movie,” which premieres Saturday.
• The mogul revealed she knew she wanted to divorce her ex-husband Kevin Hunter after her second year of marriage.
• “Kevin was a serial cheater. He cheated when I dated him. He cheated when I married him,” she says.
• Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

Over the past 35 years, Wendy Williams has taken the media world by storm, dominating the radio industry for nearly three decades, then conquering the hearts of millions on her daytime talk show, ” The Wendy Williams Show ”.

Now Williams lets fans step into her life filled with hot topics in her new biopic, “Wendy Williams: The Movie,” premiering Saturday night, followed by her eponymous documentary, “What A Mess!”

In both projects, the 56-year-old media mogul reveals it all, sharing the personal struggles she has faced throughout her life, including weight issues that started in her childhood, cocaine addiction, the alleged rape, several miscarriages and his tumultuous relationship with her. now ex-husband and former manager Kevin Hunter.

As her marriage began to fall apart publicly several years ago due to alleged infidelity and abuse, Williams told Insider that she had privately executed her divorce plans for almost two decades. The two married in 1997.

When asked at what point in her 21-year marriage she felt her happiness had become compromised, Williams said emphatically, “second year because that’s when I am. eventually got pregnant successfully. [my son] young Kevin and gave birth to him. “

“I went into the delivery room knowing in my mind, ‘I’m preparing for my divorce,'” she continued. “Kevin was a serial cheater. He cheated when I dated him. He cheated when I married him. He cheated while I was bedridden for nine months of my pregnancy.

Insider contacted Hunter, but did not immediately respond.

Williams, who finalized her divorce from Hunter in 2019, claimed her ex cheated because he “got too comfortable.” But despite struggling at home, Williams said she made the conscious decision to stay because of her 20-year-old son Kevin Hunter Jr.

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“I could not [leave] because the bigger the talk show got, and the more I looked into my son’s eyes … the more I decided to give of myself and thought to myself that I would get it in the back, so to speak The daytime talk show host, which is slated to stay on the air until 2022, told Insider.

But after the two went their separate ways, Williams said she hoped to set a good example for her son.

“I prayed that young Kevin would be smarter than his parents and that I could perform the proper divorce and be the right single mom,” she said.

Still, the talk show host said Hunter “will always be my friend because we have to be courteous to each other because we are Kevin’s parents.”

“I don’t regret meeting Kevin. I don’t regret falling in love. I don’t regret staying with him for the 25 years – 21 of them are married,” Williams added.

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Despite a very public divorce during filming, Williams was so committed to the authenticity of her biopic that she invited Hunter to come to Vancouver where they were filming.

“He was definitely invited by me as well as by Lifetime, with a promissory note from me which he would not talk about in any other way, but my truth in the documentary and represented in another way than my truth in the movie, “she added.

Still, Lifetime confirmed to Insider that Hunter declined to participate.

As for moving on to her next phase of life now that her son is out of the house and in college, Williams is wasting no time getting exactly what she wants.

“At 56, you don’t have much chance of getting your life back. So I will continue to be my own best friend until the day I die because I know what is best for me,” said she declared. “My [late] my mom didn’t know what was best for me. My sister doesn’t know which is best. You don’t know which is best. My bosses never knew what was best for me. Only I know what is best for me. “

“I’m extremely happy to always be relevant enough to be able to walk through some pretty … double doors and say, ‘How are you? “and still be young, fun and relevant to pop culture,” she added.

“Wendy Williams: The Movie,” premieres Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, followed by her eponymous documentary, “What A Mess!”