Wendy Williams Announces Hiatus From Show to 'Be With Family' Following Her Mother's Death

12/11/2020 09:48 pm EST

Wendy Williams is taking time off from her eponymous talk show to be with family after the death of her mother, Shirley Williams. The host will not record new episodes of The Wendy Williams Show next week, a spokesperson for the show told PEOPLE Friday in a statement.

"Next week, The Wendy Williams Show will air repeats to allow Wendy to travel and be with her family at this time," said the spokesperson. "The show will return with original episodes on Monday, January 4th. Debmar-Mercury extends its deepest condolences to Wendy and her family."

Williams confirmed during Monday's episode that her mother had died "beautifully and peacefully" while "surrounded by love," saying she didn't suffer "not one bit" in her final hours. "My mom passed away many, many, many, many weeks ago," she continued. "You know how you lose track of the day and time? All I know was it was a long time ago. The five of us, my mom, dad, my siblings, the five of us — she will always be here."

Williams' family friend Courtney Brown was the first to share the news of Shirley's death on Instagram, as reported by The Shade Room. "One of my granny's best friends for 83 years passed away... Mrs. Shirley Williams," Brown captioned a photo of the two women standing together. "Always available for my granny and our family, she flew in to share this beautiful speech at granny's 100th birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Williams is truly what the kids now call #CoupleGoals. May she rest peacefully and prayers to [Wendy Williams] and the entire family," she added.

It has been a difficult past year for The Wendy Williams Show, which spent months streaming from Williams' home amid the coronavirus pandemic before returning to in-studio filming in September with a limited crew and a socially-distanced audience in order to comply with safety guidelines. Earlier this year, Williams had guest hosts fill in for her as she took off time due to health problems surrounding her Graves' disease diagnosis.

"Wendy has been dealing with symptoms from her Graves' disease, which is causing fatigue," a rep for the show told PEOPLE in May of Williams' autoimmune disease. "In consultation with her doctor and as a precautionary measure, she will be taking some time off as she continues to receive treatment. We look forward to welcoming Wendy back soon and continuing the Wendy@Home shows."

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