Getty
On September 1, former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star NeNe Leakes’ husband, Gregg Leakes, passed away from colon cancer. He was 66 years old. This was Leakes’ second time battling the disease, as he was first diagnosed in 2018. In 2019, Leakes announced that he was in remission, but in June 2021, his wife revealed that his cancer had sadly come back.
In honor of her late husband, Leakes posted an emotional tribute on Instagram on September 2, 2021. Leakes posted a video of her slow dancing with her late husband to the song, “It Would Be You” by Johnny Gill. In the caption, Leakes wrote a number of red heart and breaking heart emojis.
Leakes was a cast member of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” during seasons one through seven. She then came back for seasons 10 through 12.
Leakes Previously Said That Her Husband’s Battle With Cancer Was Like a ‘Roller Coaster’
When Leakes’ cancer was first diagnosed in 2018, his wife likened the journey to being on a roller coaster.
“Honestly, it’s a really tough time,” Leakes told Us Weekly in November 2018. “Like, it’s really hard, you know? I never knew that cancer could come into our lives and change it the way that it has. It’s been really hard for me, it really has. I mean, it’s been like a roller coaster. There are days where we have good days and Gregg has good days, then we have bad days and, you know, I feel alone, he feels alone. Because, you know, he sleeps downstairs, I sleep upstairs, out of all the years we’ve ever been together, we’ve never done that before.”
Leakes continued, telling the outlet at the time, “He feels alone, I feel alone. I feel like the day they told me that he had cancer, I feel like I lost my husband. I prayed so many nights just please give me back my husband because I do not have a partner right now. And you realize all the things that your partner really did, like, he, I don’t really know who has my cable. I mean, seriously, I don’t even know who the damn yard people are. … And those are the kind of the things that Gregg really took care of, so now I’m walking around like, ‘Okay, now wait. I don’t want nothing to go off up in here, where do you pay this at? Where does this go?’”
Leakes Was Changed by Her Husband’s Cancer Diagnosis
During seasons 11 and 12 of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Leakes and her family were open and candid about Gregg Leakes’ diagnosis. During season 12, Leakes even admitted that her husband’s diagnosis had changed her.
“I am definitely not the same NeNe as I was last year,” Leakes said during the third episode of season 12, as noted by People at the time.
During the episode, Leakes also explained, “Before Gregg got diagnosed with cancer, we were already in a tough place. It was probably the worst thing we’ve been through.”
READ NEXT: Leah McSweeney Hints at Behind-the-Scenes RHONY Drama in New Interview