Last month, Wendy Williams opened up at Black Enterprise’s FWD conference about her estranged husband and former business partner Kevin Hunter. The legendary media personality filed for divorce from Hunter in April after more than two decades of marriage. She has also removed him as the executive producer of The Wendy Williams Show and dissolved the nonprofit organization that they launched together back in 2014.
“My husband and I were partners—and he’s not the executive producer, I just have to clean the slate and start over,” Williams said at FWD. She also revealed that her career and finances were well established before she and Hunter met.
“I didn’t meet my husband until my 29th birthday and those years before I was already a property owner, I was already a radio star, I was already the boss of my own life. I’m returning to that life with a bigger platform. I won’t talk horribly about my husband. You can’t just make 25 years go away,” she said.
When asked about doing business with a romantic partner, Williams’ advice was sharp. “Don’t do it,” she said. “Marry a cardiologist and you go on to be an engineer—make sure people support you but have your separate lives. When you come home you have more to talk about than business. Keep it separate.”
Following her fireside chat at FWD, Williams talked about the next stages of her career and the secret behind her interviewing style. She also emphasized the importance of generating multiple streams of revenue.
“Who do you know has just one job first of all? If you don’t have at least two jobs these days, then you’re fooling yourself,” she said. “And why is it important? Well, who’s going to take care of me? Love is not promised. Marriage is not promised. It’s not promised that your children are going to be successful and be able to take care of you.”
Watch Wendy Williams’ backstage interview at FWD below.