NeNe Leakes Criticizes RHOA Stars for Having ‘Pretend’ Relationships

Getty NeNe Leakes

NeNe Leakes has been sharing all of her unfiltered thoughts on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” in the first half of a two-part podcast episode with Carlos King on “Reality With the King.”

In the first part of the discussion, Leakes gave her opinion on another longtime RHOA star, Kenya Moore, with whom she had an on-and-off feud during their time on the show. The OG star said she felt the show changed when Moore came on, and while she acknowledged that it wasn’t just Moore who changed it, that was the time things changed.

Leakes said when the show started, they were showing their real lives and relationships. “Our stories were real, everything we talked about and did was real,” she said. “We didn’t pretend like we had a boyfriend when we didn’t have one. I think once Kenya came on the show, I’m not saying that Kenya started it or did it, but I’m saying at that moment it started to be, ‘let’s create our storyline.'”

Leakes told King that she hasn’t watched the show since her exit ahead of season 13 but has seen clips of the episodes. “As far as I’m concerned they’re all sitting in my house, the house that I built. And it seems like it’s tumbling down,” she shared.

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NeNe Leakes Said Kenya Moore Was a ‘Great Addition’ to RHOA But Wasn’t the ‘Star of the Show’

Leakes discussed Moore’s impact on the show in more detail later in the “Reality With the King” episode. In response to King saying he thought Moore and Porsha Williams “saved the show” when they joined in season 5, Moore replied, “I don’t know… I know they were great additions.”

She said the cast was excited to have Moore on the show because she was a former Miss USA winner but Leakes’ friendship with the actress turned sour. King said some fans suggested that Leakes was jealous or threatened by Moore becoming the “star of the show” and Leakes replied frankly, “I have never thought Kenya was the star of the show.”

“Now I’m not even being shady, seriously,” she continued. “Honestly, I’ve never thought she was the star of the show ever. I think Kenya is great on the show and I think she was a great addition to the show and I think the show needs Kenya, by the way. But I never saw her as the star of ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ ever.”

Kenya Moore & NeNe Leakes’ Ups & Downs Were Well-Documented on RHOA

Leakes and Moore have had an up-and-down friendship and often clashed during their many shared seasons on the show. However, like Leakes’ recent comments, Moore praised her co-star’s impact on the show and told Page Six in 2021 that she felt there was room for Leakes to return to RHOA.

Moore said Leakes was a “viable cast member” for a long time and as one of the OGs, her impact on the franchise was undeniable. “I do think that she has a very interesting story to tell now, especially with the unfortunate passing of her husband,” she added, in reference to Gregg Leakes’ death in 2021 after a four-year colon cancer battle. At the time, Moore put their differences aside and attended Gregg Leakes’ memorial services.

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