“Drop the price — just get rid of it,” were probably the words talk show host Wendy Williams said when instructing her broker to sell her former marital home in an exclusive gated community in Livingston, New Jersey.
Williams, 55, is used to dishing the gossip on other celebs but became tabloid fodder herself over the last year. She recently filed for divorce from ex-husband Kevin Hunter, 46, after it was revealed he had a baby with his mistress Sharina Hudson in April. Now, eager to dump the former couple’s former home, she has reduced the asking price of her Livingston, New Jersey residence from $1.895 million to $1.699 million according to Realtor.com. Williams stands to lose a small fortune on the property the erstwhile pair purchased in 2009 for $2.1 million.
The five-bedroom, five-bathroom property sits on three-quarters of an acre lot. It was built in 1999 and redecorated in a black and white theme throughout. Other highlights include a dramatic two-story rotunda in the foyer, a chef’s kitchen and a finished basement with a corporate office-like dropped ceiling. The exterior grounds feature landscape gardens, a koi pond and a sports court.
The NY Post’s Page Six confirmed in September that Williams moved out of the couple’s marital home in the summer and into a $15,000-a-month apartment in Manhattan’s Financial District. Page Six also reported that Williams had to pay Hunter $250,000 so he could “secure new living arrangements.” Earlier in the year, Williams revealed that she had been living in a “sober house” as part of her ongoing battle with addiction.
According to The Cinemaholic, Wendy Williams is worth $60 million and receives an annual salary of $15 million for her talk show, so affording the $15,000 in rent for her bachelorette pad (as first revealed by Velvet Ropes) in the luxury building isn’t a stretch. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment spans 2,304 square feet, is located in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District and enjoys Hudson River views.
Were Williams to decide to buy her rental apartment, she would probably be looking to spend around $4.5 million, as according to StreetEasy, another three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo in the same building is available for sale at that price.
The luxury digs in Manhattan actually represent a substantial downsizing for usually larger-than-life Williams, as her previous Livingston address was an ample 5,700 square feet. From the exterior, the home appears to be a fairly nondescript suburban McMansion but Williams, known to be something of a home decorating fiend, put her own spin on the interior. In 2012, she gave People a tour of her favorite room of the former family residence, displaying black walls and colorful paintings. “I love our house, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” she said. “It’s not about it being big. It’s not about things being expensive. It’s about three people who live a fast life, who need a safe place – and that’s our home.” But times change.