NeNe Leakes’ longtime husband Gregg died from cancer on Wednesday, the family confirmed to multiple press outlets.
He was 67.
Gregg, who was married to the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” mainstay for more than 20 years, was first diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2018. After six months of chemotherapy, NeNe said her husband was in remission in 2019. But in June of this year, she reported the cancer had returned.
Over the weekend, she told a crowd at her Linnethia Lounge in Duluth that he was “transitioning to the other side,” according to a video sent to TMZ. She then posted “Broken” on her Instagram page.
The statement by a media rep provided to TMZ and People stated: “Today the Leakes family is in deep pain with a broken heart. After a long battle with cancer, Gregg Leakes has passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by all of his children, very close loved ones and wife Nene Leakes.”
NeNe married Gregg in 1997. They divorced in 2011 and remarried in 2013. He was a regular presence on “Real Housewives” throughout the years, typically a source of calm amid the tensions and dramas his wife dealt with on the show.
An original member of the show in 2008, she dropped full-time status season 7 and wasn’t on the show at all season 9. She returned one more time for season 10, then left last year after season 12.
A real estate investor, Gregg spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at a party in 2008 soon after the first episode of the break-out reality show aired. “I’m a behind-the-scenes guy,” he told the newspaper at the time. He said he enjoyed watching his wife on TV: “I love NeNe because she’s real. It’s always good to be real.”
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