Wendy Williams Opens Up About Her Mother’s Death On Her Show: ‘She’ll Always Be Here’

Wendy Williams recently announced that her mother, Shirley Williams, has died. Shirley was 83, and Williams revealed on her show that her mother passed away “many, many weeks ago,” though the news was just announced over the weekend.

On William’s Dec. 7 show, she opened up about how “fortunate” she was to have such a strong relationship with the woman who raised her.

Wendy Williams revealed that her mother has passed away

The news of Williams’ mother’s death was reportedly revealed by journalist Courtney Brown, who announced over the weekend that her grandmother’s best friend (Shirley Williams) had died. At the time, no context was given about Shirley’s death, nor had Williams publicly addressed the news herself.

Fans did know, however, that Williams and her mother were close. Williams had been raised in New Jersey, where her mother lived up until she died; she had worked in a school in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and Williams often referred to her life growing up in New Jersey on her show. Then, when Williams returned to her show after the weekend, she made the announcement that her mother had died — but it actually happened weeks ago.

Williams opened up about her mother on her recent show

Williams revealed on The Wendy Williams Show that her mother had died “many” weeks ago, but that Williams had kept quiet about her death because it was during a time when there was already so much going on in the world. Then, Williams went on to open up about life with her mother and how the two had developed such a close connection.

“First of all, she passed away beautiful, and peacefully, and surrounded by love,” Williams said. “She didn’t suffer one bit.” Williams explained how her and her mother had grown much closer once she went away to college and wasn’t seeing her parents as much.

“Our relationship was like that of two teenage girls … My relationship with my mother, right up until the end, was so girly, and so ridiculously giggly,” she said. Williams discussed how her mother loved to watch classic Christmas movies and always wore press-on nails. Plus, the two often had late-night chats about life. “Sometimes we’d be on the phone for so long, that we’d literally fall asleep with the phones right here,” she said, gesturing to the space between her ear and shoulder.

Williams said she wants to be strong for her family  

Though it was hard for Williams to talk about her mother, she got through it, and the audience seemed to love hearing her sweet words. “Gone is the best mother, the best girlfriend that a girl could ever have … and I feel fortunate to have had her in my life all my 56 years.”

Williams gave herself a pat on the back after her speech. “Wow. I made it,” she said, referring to getting through her entire discussion about her mother without crying. She then said that she wants to remain strong for her family — especially her son.

As for her father, Williams says, “He’s doing well.”