Wendy Williams Reveals Her Mother, Shirley Williams, Has Died: ‘Gone Is the Best Mother a Girl Could Ever Have’

Wendy Williams is mourning the loss of her mom, Shirley Williams. The Wendy Williams Show host announced during Monday’s episode of her show that her mother had died “beautifully and peacefully” several weeks back while surrounded by “love.” While she didn’t detail the loss further, Wendy said her mom “didn’t suffer, not one bit.”

“My mom passed away many, many, many, many weeks ago,” the daytime host 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.” Wendy said that looking back, she and Shirley acted like “teenage girls” when they were together. “Gone is the best mother, the best girlfriend, that a girl could ever have,” she said, tearfully. “I feel fortunate that I had her in my life all of my 56 years.”

Williams family friend Courtney Brown was first to share the news of Shirley’s death on Instagram, reported The Shade Room. “One of my granny’s best friends for 83 years passed away… Mrs. Shirley Williams,” Brown wrote under a photo of the two women 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.

Wendy’s followers flocked to her latest Instagram post, a roundup of the weekend, to express their sympathies. “So sorry to hear about the passing of your mom Mrs. Shirley she seemed like such a beautiful and lovely person,” one person commented. “You and your family are all in our prayers.” Another added, “I am total shock 🙁 thinking of you and your family Wendy! I am so sorry for your loss. You mom was a beautiful soul. Sending love and peace your way.”

Wendy has talked over the course of her career about how close she was with her mom, admitting to Us Weekly in October that her time on The Masked Singer was difficult due to the level of secrecy she had to maintain until her unmasking. “There were tears at night because this is something scary that I normally wouldn’t do and I couldn’t really talk to anyone,” Wendy told the outlet. “My parents would call me, and I couldn’t pick up or anything. I think they thought I fled the country or something. It was all so emotional that it really hit me at night!”