Revealed: NeNe Leakes' 'RHOA' Salary From Season 1 Until Exit — How Much Did She Really Make?
July 25 2023, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
NeNe Leakes revealed how much money she earned as a peach-holder on Real Housewives of Atlanta, claiming her earnings were much smaller than fans may have ever speculated during her early days.
The Bravolebrity said she made a total of $10,000 for season 1, during which cameras were rolling for three months, and got an additional $5,000 check for the reunion.
Leakes said money was tight at the start of her RHOA stint, telling producer Carlos King on his Reality with the King podcast that when she and her costars came back and "knocked it out of the park" for season 2, they did get a bump in their salary.
The reality star told King she made roughly $50,000 for the second season and got a boost again in time for season 3, bringing in $100,000, at the most $150,000.
Leakes said costars Shereé Whitfield and Kim Zolciak earned the same amount in season 3.
"We started to make a bag, maybe season 4," Leakes explained, claiming it wasn't until then that she and her costars started making "real" money worthy of their reality prowess.
Leakes announced her exit in 2020, revealing she made the "hard and very difficult" decision not to be a part of the season 13 cast.
"I have been on an extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation," she said. "There has been a lot of emotion flying on both sides."
"I'm just so happy that I can say that I was a part of a genre that opened doors for Black ensemble reality shows."
Last fall, RadarOnline.com confirmed that she dismissed a lawsuit filed against Bravo, NBC Universal, franchise producer Andy Cohen and other parties in April, accusing the defendants of violating federal employment and anti-discrimination laws.
As we reported at the time, Leakes can choose to resurface this case in the future if she decides to.
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Leakes said their show was a ratings goldmine, agreeing that season 6 was her favorite cast during her time on RHOA, also sharing how Kenya Moore and Porsha Williams were great additions to the franchise.
During the interview, she also addressed rumors surrounding her romance with now-ex Nyonisela Sioh, stating how they were dating when he was legally married but going through divorce. Leakes said she did not meet him before her husband, Gregg, died, recalling how Sioh helped her to remain focused as she coped with the tragic loss.
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