{"id":36978,"date":"2026-08-10T18:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=36978"},"modified":"2026-08-10T18:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:44:24","slug":"nene-leakes-returns-to-real-housewives-six-years-after-fiery-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=36978","title":{"rendered":"NeNe Leakes returns to &#8216;Real Housewives&#8217; six years after fiery exit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F08%2F136988008.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>NeNe Leakes <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/12\/17\/entertainment\/rhoa-alum-nene-leakes-in-talks-to-make-bravo-return-after-lawsuit\/\">made an epic return<\/a> to the \u201cReal Housewives\u201d franchise six years after her fiery exit.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cReal Housewives of Atlanta\u201d alum made a special appearance during Sunday\u2019s premiere of\u00a0the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/08\/09\/entertainment\/heres-how-to-watch-rhugt-roaring-20th-premiere-for-free\/\">Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th\u00a0Special<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The episode kicks off with Leake\u2019s former castmate\u00a0Porsha Williams\u00a0welcoming her into her home to help pack for the iconic cross-country vacation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>NeNe Leakes (pictured second from the right) made an epic return to the \u201cReal Housewives\u201d franchise six years after her fiery exit. <span class=\"credit\">Michael SeRine\/Bravo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The \u201cRHOA\u201d alum (photographed with fellow \u201cRHOA\u201d castmates) made a special appearance during the premiere of\u00a0the \u201cReal Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th\u00a0Special.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Michael SeRine\/Bravo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe last time we saw NeNe was Season 12,\u201d Williams recalls in a confessional. \u201cThat was the reunion during the [COVID-19] pandemic and she did the close of the laptop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During the frenemies\u2019 catch-up, Williams <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/02\/03\/celebrity-news\/rhoa-star-porsha-williams-addresses-rumors-shes-engaged-to-girlfriend-patrice-sway-mckinney\/\">dishes on her relationship with\u00a0Patrice \u201cSway\u201d McKinney<\/a>, with Leakes teasing, \u201cYou swimming in the lady pond!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was just casual texting and all of a sudden there\u2019s this event that came up,\u201d Williams shares of her relationship. \u201cI was like, \u2018Hey, you wanna go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as you\u2019re happy, that\u2019s the only thing that matters,\u201d Leakes says, despite her surprise.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sunday\u2019s episode kicks off with Leakes\u2019 former castmate\u00a0Porsha Williams\u00a0(pictured right) welcoming her into her home to help pack for the iconic cross-country vacation.\u00a0 <span class=\"credit\">Michael SeRine\/Bravo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The frenemies caught up about their lives since Leakes\u2019 dramatic exit in 2020. <span class=\"credit\">Michael SeRine\/Bravo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As their reunion continues, the \u201cTraitors\u201d alum details the group\u2019s travel itinerary to iconic\u00a0\u201cReal Housewives\u201d\u00a0locations, including Orange County, Beverly Hills, Miami, New York City and more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow dare we celebrate 20 years as \u2018Housewives\u2019 and leave out the NeNe Leakes?\u201d\u00a0Williams teases in a confessional. \u201cSo, the queen herself will be making an appearance when we enter Atlanta.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The duo agrees that Leakes\u2019 return is \u201chuge\u201d considering how she left Bravo.<\/p>\n<p>As fans remember, Leakes\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2020\/09\/17\/nene-leakes-is-leaving-rhoa-it-wasnt-an-easy-decision\/\">quit \u201cRHOA\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 despite her OG status \u2014 in September 2020.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Leakes, notably, \u00a0quit \u201cRHOA\u201d in September 2020 during the virtual Season 12 reunion, as seen above. <span class=\"credit\">Bravo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>She shut her laptop unexpectedly and was not heard from after. <span class=\"credit\">Bravo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Virtual Reali-Tea with Danny and Evan\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStay one step ahead with all the exclusive tea on your favorite reality TV stars!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Virtual Reali-Tea with Danny and Evan, our must-read newsletter!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThank for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI have been on an extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation,\u201d she announced at the time, explaining that \u201cthere\u2019s been a lot of emotion flying from both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She ultimately made the \u201cvery hard and very difficult decision\u201d to exit the series ahead of Season 13.<\/p>\n<p>In April 2022, the reality star\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2022\/04\/20\/nene-leakes-sues-saying-racism-accepted-on-real-housewives-of-atlanta\/\">filed a bombshell lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against Bravo, Andy Cohen and associated companies, accusing them of \u201cfoster[ing] a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated \u2014 if not, encouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leakes alleged that her complaints of racism led in part to her being \u201cforced\u201d out of the \u201chouse she built.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>In April 2022, the reality star (pictured in May) filed a bombshell lawsuit against Bravo, Andy Cohen and associated companies, accusing them of racism. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images for The Abbey West Hollywood<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>However, after four months of\u00a0\u201cnegotiating\u201d between the parties, Leakes\u00a0(seen above in March) filed to dismiss the case and has since made amends with Cohen. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, after four months of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2022\/06\/28\/nene-leakes-negotiating-lawsuit-with-bravo-andy-cohen\/\">\u201cnegotiating\u201d between the parties<\/a>, Leakes\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2022\/08\/22\/nene-leakes-drops-discrimination-lawsuit-against-bravo-andy-cohen\/\">filed to dismiss the case<\/a>\u00a0\u201cwithout prejudice,\u201d meaning she can reopen it later.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/12\/17\/entertainment\/rhoa-alum-nene-leakes-in-talks-to-make-bravo-return-after-lawsuit\/#\"\/>Back in May, Leakes revealed she is <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/05\/celebrity-news\/nene-leakes-reveals-current-status-of-andy-cohen-friendship-after-bravo-lawsuit\/\">willing to \u201cmove forward\u201d in her relationship with Cohen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>She also claimed that she and the Bravo exec have texted\u00a0since the filing was axed,\u00a0but that it\u2019s up to\u00a0Cohen to decide whether he wants to get back on speaking terms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am the kind of person that, good or bad, time heals. You don\u2019t have to be besties or anything like that, but I move forward. I\u2019m not into holding negative energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NeNe Leakes made an epic return to the \u201cReal Housewives\u201d franchise six years after her fiery exit. The \u201cReal Housewives of Atlanta\u201d alum made a special appearance during Sunday\u2019s premiere of\u00a0the \u201cReal Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th\u00a0Special.\u201d The episode kicks off with Leake\u2019s former castmate\u00a0Porsha Williams\u00a0welcoming her into her home to help pack for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/08\/136988008.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}