NeNe Leakes’ husband, Gregg Leakes, has died at age 66 following a battle with colon cancer.
“Gregg Leakes, most notably known for appearing alongside his wife, actress & TV personality NeNe Leakes on 12 seasons of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta, has passed away at the age of 66,” said publicist Ernest Dukes, as reported by The Wrap.
“After a long battle with cancer, Gregg Leakes has passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by all of his children, very close loved ones and wife Nene Leakes.”
His death comes days after NeNe revealed at an Atlanta lounge that her husband of 24 years was “transitioning to the other side.”
“I hope you guys are enjoying the lounge tonight,” said Leakes to patrons in an Atlanta lounge on Saturday night before getting candid about her husband’s health condition. “Please, I’m asking everybody in this lounge, I had no idea that I was going to walk in here and grab this microphone and make this announcement but I want to say this… I want to be at peace. When you see me and you see my son, give us a lot of love, okay? My husband is transitioning to the other side… You don’t know what we’re dealing with right now.”
Gregg was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer back in 2018. Since then he has been in remission, until a couple of months ago when Leakes announced that her husband’s cancer had returned, theGrio previously reported.
During the 11th season of Real Housewives of Atlanta, viewers could see the difficulties the couple endured as they coped with Gregg’s cancer and trying to maintain a healthy marriage.
In June, NeNe revealed Gregg was hospitalized and had to have surgery following the return of his cancer.
“It’s difficult,” she said during an Instagram Live at the time. “He’s super small. If you’ve ever been around somebody who’s had cancer before, he’s different. He’s different.”
Prior to Gregg’s passing, he and NeNe’s son, Brentt, encouraged people to “spend time with your loved ones every chance you get.” The 22-year-old wrote on his Instagram Story, as reported by The Shade Room: “Time is so…valuable dog. I can’t express it. I’m learning the hard way watching my dad fight every day.”
“Please go create memories with ya people,” he concluded.
Condolences began to pour in for the Leakes family, including from Real Housewives executive producer and Bravo host Andy Cohen.
“I am heartbroken over the passing of Gregg Leakes, a wonderful man. I jokingly called him “Pastor Leakes” but in truth he was a strong voice of reason & commanded great respect among the entire #RHOA team. I am sending love and strength to @neneleakes & the entire Leakes family,” Cohen tweeted.
Gregg requested that a funeral not be held for him, TMZ reported. The family will honor his wishes to have him cremated. However, there will a celebration of life service held for the late reality TV star at a later date.
*This story contains additional reporting from theGRIO’s Aisha Powell.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!