‘RHOA’ Bombshell! NeNe Leakes Tells Wendy Williams ‘I Am Quitting’
Jan. 21 2020, Published 5:24 p.m. ET
Is the OG from the ATL out?
NeNe Leakes told Wendy Williams she was “quitting” the Real Housewives of Atlanta in a shocking move.
Wendy, 55, made the surprise announcement on her show on Tuesday morning, revealing she received a text from NeNe, 52, that read, “I am quitting,” at 9:08 in the morning, while she was on a commercial break.
“That is what we call a Wendy exclusive, everybody,” her guest Jerry O’Connell told the audience.
“I'm surprised that I got it, have no service in my office,” Wendy said.
“I know something about NeNe that you all will cry, be sad and feel bad for her. She’s carrying the weight of a huge thing on her shoulders,” Wendy said.
“I’m not going to say it, she’s got to say it. But in my opinion, NeNe, you need this platform to explain the other part of your life.”
“Is everything going okay with her husband, health and everything,” Jerry asked.
“Gregg is not sick, he is cured,” Wendy said about the reality star’s husband, Gregg Leakes, who bravely fought cancer in the past few years.
Soon after the news broke, NeNe responded on her Instagram page, writing: “WHO SAID DAT!?!?! #SMH,” as a caption of a photo of herself in a white blouse.
NeNe’s rep told Us Weekly that she was only “venting” to a friend.
“It’s been an especially difficult couple of weeks for NeNe, and she was venting to her friend in private correspondence,” the statement to Us said. “Nothing has been confirmed or officially decided for next season.”
According to a source close to the show, Leakes was just talking to her friend about the situation.
“NeNe goes through this every season, it’s never a sure thing that she nor any of the ladies are officially returning until she sits with Bravo to discuss after every season,” the source explains. “She was just venting to Wendy, she has not officially decided either way.”
RadarOnline.com broke the news that NeNe signed a lucrative 3-year contract prior to Season 12.
“NeNe is now making $2.85 million for the upcoming season,” a source close to the reality star previously told RadarOnline.com.
“That is a $100,000 raise from last season,” the insider confirmed.
Scroll through the gallery for more details about NeNe’s RHOA bombshell quitting confession.
Money Talks
“NeNe brings the drama and the storylines,” a source previously told RadarOnline.com about her huge salary, the highest on Bravo. “She is rewarded handsomely for delivering over and over again.”
Secret
“I'm just saying, I'm not going to say it,” Wendy spilled about the secret NeNe was keeping. “She has to say it,” Wendy said about the big news.
Turmoil
“That secret will melt their hearts, when she shared it with me I was like, I cried with her, Jerry,” Wendy told her guest after revealing that NeNe sent her a text that read, “I’m quitting.”
Bad Blood
NeNe has been locked in a battle with Kenya Moore, who returned to RHOA after getting fired for keeping her marriage and relationship a secret.
Friends
Porsha Williams and NeNe also fought on the show, but a sneak peek of the second half of the season showed the two ladies finally making up.
So Much Money
RHOA cast salaries totaled almost $10 million for Season 12, with NeNe earning the most of any woman in any franchise.