Actress NeNe Leakes attends NBC's Upfront Presentation at Radio City Music Hall on May 14, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

NeNe Leakes is returning for the fifth season of the hit show Real Housewives of Atlanta, but the decision was a tough one. Leakes says she is tired of the reality scene. “Everybody wasn’t expecting me to come back [to the fifth season],” Leakes said. “It was really a hard decision for me to even think of coming back because I was so tired of the whole reality thing. And not just being tired of it — I had other things in the works.” Vibe reports:

Everyone knows Nene. After five seasons, the Real Housewives Of Atlanta star is a television OG, but unlike many reality focal points the HBIC hasn’t been held back by the stigma. Instead, she’s slowly taking over Hollywood, landing roles on Glee and the upcoming NBC comedy The New Normal, which premieres this fall. VIBE recently chatted with Nene about that role for an upcoming issue, during which we also asked about her future on Housewives and the growing concerns over reality television’s violence (see: our June/July cover story).

VIBE: Are you still shooting the next Real Housewives of Atlanta?
Nene Leakes: I am currently shooting. We’ve been shooting for about three weeks. We have a long way to go. Everybody wasn’t expecting me to come back for this season. It was really a hard decision for me to even think of coming back because I was so tired of the whole reality thing. And not just being tired of it—I had other things in the works. But I think it’s a good idea that I’ve come back for season 5. I would love to just walk away, but when I sit down and talk with my team, it’s not… If you can do it all, then just do it all. Why leave the show when you can still do the show and you can still do The New Normal? So we’re going to see how doing everything works. We’ll see what happens. We’re taking a little bit of a chance.

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