When you hear Montel Williams' name, you may think about The Montel Williams Show, which
ran for an impressive 18 seasons between 1991 and 2008. But how much do you know about what
he's been up to lately? Read on to delve into Montel Williams' life these days.
Montel Williams has been married three times and has four children. He shares two daughters,
with Rochele See, who he was married to from 1982 to 1989. He shares his two other children,
a son and a daughter, with Grace Morley who was his spouse from 1992 until 2000. In 2007,
he married Tara Fowler, who formerly worked as a flight attendant.
Sadly, in 2010, two of Williams' children, Montel Jr. and Wyntergrace, told the Daily
News that although he was paying thousands of dollars a month in child support, things
weren't great between them. The star's daughter admitted -
"My dad is now like a stranger. Everyone knows him as a great guy, but he's not making the
best choices as a parent."
His son added -
"I eat every night. I'm comfortable, but I can't say I have him as a father. There's
all this fighting over things that shouldn't be a fight, like paying for my PSAT."
Montel Jr., who is now a professional MMA fighter and marijuana advocate, said his dad
was not a part of his life then, and kept the reason why simple, saying -
"It's his choice."
Their dad also released a statement regarding their relationship, saying -
"I love my children very much. I do not believe parenting is best done in a public forum and
I will not comment on ongoing legal action involving my minor children."
In a 2019 interview with The Athletic, Montel Jr. revealed that their relationships were
being mended.
One of Montel Williams' former romances hit the news in 2020 around the time of the presidential
election when plenty of people found out that he had dated Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Us Weekly explained that a Twitter picture of Harris, Williams, and his daughter Ashley
together hinted that the two were in a relationship together when Harris was working as city attorney
in San Francisco.
The tweeted photos sparked a fair share of reactions from the Twitter community and while
some were just finding out about Williams and Harris' past together, he had already
addressed the situation when it buzzed in 2019, tweeting -
"@KamalaHarris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what?
I have great respect for Sen. Harris. I have to wonder if the same stories about her dating
history would have been written if she were a male candidate?"
Williams told the Multiple Sclerosis News Today outlet that he was diagnosed with MS
before he knew what it was. A doctor told the talk show host's wife at the time that
it looked like he had it at an appointment. Williams later recalled -
"That was on a Friday. On Saturday, he said to me, 'you have MS.'"
The star added that the medical professional gave him some literature and predicted that
Williams would be in a wheelchair within four years.
The diagnosis devastated Williams, but he went on to battle the obstacles the disease
has thrown at him. Per Everyday Health, he said -
"I had a choice to make: I could either spend the rest of my life feeling sorry for myself
or I could view my illness as a call to action."
In the years since, Williams has spent much of his time coping with the disease and looking
at various medical options to treat it, including a treatment called liberation therapy.
"The theory behind the therapy is that there is a link between MS and vein blockages."
However, whether or not it's actually an effective treatment for MS has been hotly debated in
the medical community, as it has seemed to help some patients but not others.
In 2018, Montel Williams opened up to Good Morning America about another medical issue,
this time a stroke he suffered. Williams explained to GMA -
"I was in the gym, pushing one of those workouts. I heard this pop and I realized, 'I'm the
only person in this gym, so how is there a pop?'"
Fortunately, Williams had recently learned about the symptoms of a stroke while watching
Dr. Oz.
"I knew something happened and I started recognizing some of the symptoms that literally they talk
about all the time - that is a stroke!"
When he realized what was going on, he managed to get to his wife, Tara Fowler. However,
that wasn't easy, because while he had been on the second floor of the building, Fowler
was on the 14th floor.
When Williams was finally able to reach his wife, he said,
"Call an ambulance right now and tell them your husband just had a stroke!"
When paramedics arrived, they immediately did a CAT scan on the star and a doctor talked
to him on a video screen. It turned out that Williams suffered a hemorrhagic stroke, different
from the more common kind.
Apparently, if he hadn't gotten the right kind of help right away, it's possible he
could have been treated for a different kind of stroke, meaning he would have been mistakenly
treated with blood thinners, which could have killed him. He revealed that if he hadn't
been able to reach his wife and get proper care,
"I would be dead today."
According to Forbes, ever since Williams was diagnosed with MS, he has been searching for
a safe and effective form of medicinal cannabis to help treat his disease, in spite of any
naysayers.
"If you my doctor says 'Montel use marijuana' everybody else can shut up and get out of
my conversation."
Wanting to help make it available to the public after 17 years of research and advocacy, he
launched a line of cannabis oils and products.
Williams talked to Forbes about what he's doing with his company, called Lenitiv Labs,
saying that their aim is to provide safe and clean choices for those suffering from MS
and other diseases, saying -
"If you call it medicine, [...] you must believe that they're walking in that door trusting
that it will work, and not do them harm."
While the star is obviously aiming to help others with the products that his cannabis
company offers, he found himself in a surely unexpected situation after the aforementioned
Forbes article shared what he was up to. After the piece was published, Forbes reported it
was then republished elsewhere with altered information that promoted CBD products from
a different company. Williams was then forced to take legal action to get his brand back,
according to Leafly. The lawsuit was eventually settled, but it cost Williams two years of
his time and hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Before Montel Williams became a celebrity, he had a very different kind of career. After
graduating high school in the '70s, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines. Per Military.com, he
impressed his superiors during basic training with his leadership skills, and he was sent
to the Naval Academy Preparatory school. While switching from the Marines to the Navy, he
not only studied Mandarin Chinese, but he also graduated with a degree in general engineering
while minoring in International Security Affairs.
With that impressive training behind him, he went on to work as a cryptologic officer
for naval intelligence among other roles and ranks. In fact, Military.com points out that
it was during this time he realized his talent for public speaking, which led to him eventually
becoming a talk show host.
Nowadays, Williams continues to support military veterans which is why, as Business Insider
noted, he was given The Department of the Navy Superior Public Service Award in 2008,
which he can display beside his Navy Achievement Medal, his Meritorious Service Medal, and
his Navy Commendation Medal.
Williams is also the famous face behind Military Makeover, which has a familiar TV show formula
but features a military-focused twist. Air Force Magazine explains that the production
aims to give deserving service members a home renovation. It's clear that Williams' military
days are still close to his heart.
Montel Williams may primarily be known as a TV host thanks to The Montel Williams Show,
but he's also dabbled in acting. He's had a number gigs over the years, popping up on
popular series like JAG, My Name Is Earl, Guiding Light and Touched by an Angel, often
playing someone from the military, which obviously draws on his own past and experiences while
serving.
More recently, Williams appeared as a character called Dream World Montel in 2019's Cool Cat's
Crazy Dream, a video short that focuses on someone telling the audience about their dream
about attending a star studded party. He also played himself on the drama series The Resident
that same year.
Beyond that, Williams is willing to take his performing talents to the stage. If you're
into off-Broadway plays, then you might have seen him in The Exonerated in the early '00s.
According to Playbill, the story was based on interviews of dozens of former death row
inmates.
Montel Williams has stayed busy producing documentaries. He was behind 2017's Architects
of Denial, which examined persecution of both Armenians and Christians in the Middle East,
as well as 2019's Hate Among Us, which examined the rise in anti-semitism, and 2020's Sky
Blossom, which focuses on millennials who care for family dealing with medical conditions.
Williams was also involved with The Real Skinny on Fat, which explores how the Keto diet can
improve health. In particular, the star believes it has helped him when it comes to multiple
sclerosis. He chatted with Dr. Oz about the docu-series in 2019, and explained why he
thinks this specific diet works. Suffice to say, Williams didn't leave the unscripted
realm when his long-running talk show ended.
While some celebrities refuse to speak out about their political beliefs out of the fear
that they might alienate fans, there are other stars, like Montel Williams, who are perfectly
willing to make their beliefs known. That's why he didn't hesitate to tell The Hill back
in 2009,
"I happen to be a registered Independent. I was a Republican all my life. I left the
Republican Party."
Nowadays, Williams is a vocal supporter of LGBTQ causes, and as CNN reported, has attended
events like The American Unity Fund, a conservative nonprofit that advocates for the LGBTQ community.
As he said in a statement at the time -
"There are a few misguided lawmakers who have lost sight of the fact that anything short
of full freedom for our LGBT neighbors, friends, and co-workers is a threat to the freedom
of all of us."
Williams backed former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a decision he wrote
about in an essay for USA Today. He also spoke out against Donald Trump during his presidency,
telling Variety -
"This is the first commander in chief that I believe doesn't recognize what his role
is and doesn't understand that [people in the military are] not pawns on a chessboard;
he's responsible for their lives."
He added,
"The thing that bothers me the most about it is that […] 85% of this country is still
so narcissistic, they don't care, and they won't care until it's too late."
Montel Williams has spent decades in the entertainment industry and can surely consider himself to
be a successful person thanks to his various endeavors and accomplishments. However, while
other famous names who have dominated the talk show game are worth seriously staggering
amounts of money, it turns out that Williams may not be as rich as you might think.
These days, Williams has a relatively modest fortune that sits at $10 million, according
to Celebrity Net Worth, which is obviously more than the average person has, but maybe
not what he could have banked had his show still been on the air. Granted, he also makes
money in other ways. He talked to Success about his motivation when it comes to juggling
his many professional projects, admitting -
"I hate to say it like this, but I'm like a crack addict with [my companies]."
While he seemed to acknowledge the inappropriate association, he explained further by adding-
"I'm an information junkie."
The star also talked about wanting to help others succeed with the Living Well Method,
designed to help people succeed financially as well as in other areas in their lives,
saying -
"The Living Well method is about paying attention to the impediments in your life. If you can
meet your own needs and contribute to society, that's what Living Well is."
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