Wendy Williams and Husband Kevin Hunter Reportedly Headed for Split Amid 'Long, Sad, Vicious Cycle'

Wendy Williams and husband Kevin Hunter may be "exploring" potential divorce, but the daytime talk show host is reportedly trying to keep her family together.

According to sources who spoke to Us Weekly, while Hunter is eager "to separate," Williams has "begged" her husband to stay amid rumors that he recently welcomed a child with his alleged mistress.

The source claimed that Hunter, William's husband of nearly 22 years, "has wanted to separate so that they would be free to live their own lives," but the Ask Wendy author "has begged Kevin to stay with her."

A potential separation comes amid a "very long, sad, vicious cycle," in which sources claimed that Hunter has been with his alleged mistress, Sharina Hudson, for upwards of 10 years, even putting her up in an apartment in New York City.

Weeks before Williams announced that she would be taking an "extended break" from The Wendy Williams Show, blogger Love B Scott reported that Hudson was pregnant with Hunter's child, Page Six reported. The report resulted in William's lawyer sending the blogger a cease-and-desist letter in January stating, "Mrs Wendy Williams-Hunter and Mr Kevin Hunter categorically deny each and every allegation made by your 'sources.'"

News of Hudson's pregnancy, according to sources, was one of the main reasons William's had taken the more than two month long hiatus from her talk show, although an official statement claimed it was due to complications related to her Graves' disease.

It was reported on Wednesday that Hunter and Williams, who had previously stated in her 2001 memoir Wendy's Got The Heat that she would leave her husband if he got another woman pregnant, were headed towards divorce.

"There is a discussion about what happens now — everyone is asking, 'How can they possibly stay together?' Wendy still loves Kevin, but her health is at stake," a source claimed. "They are so tangled up together in business, so they are carefully looking at what a separation could entail. It will be difficult."

The couple, who have a 19-year-old son together, married in 1997 and have been entwined in one another's work for some time. Hunter has been Williams' long-time manager, and they are both partners in Wendy Williams Productions, which produces The Wendy Williams Show.

Neither Williams nor Hunter have commented on the speculation that they are "exploring" the option of separation, though the talk show host has been spotted on numerous occasions without her wedding ring.