Gregg Leakes, husband of ‘Real Housewives’ star NeNe Leakes, has died after a protracted battle with colon cancer. He was 66.
“Today the Leakes family is in deep pain with a broken heart. 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,” their publicist and family friend Ernest Dukes wrote in a Wednesday statement to the Los Angeles Times.
“We ask that you pray for peace and strength over their family & allow them to mourn in private during this very very difficult time,” Dukes wrote.
Born and raised in Atlanta and billed by Bravo as “a self-taught businessman,” Gregg appeared with his wife NeNe, 53, on 12 seasons of the cable network’s reality TV franchise, which chronicled their 2011 divorce, 2013 reunion and over-the-top nuptials in a wedding special titled ‘I Dream of NeNe.’ The real estate investor often served as a voice of reason on the show.
The ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ stars were first married in 1997 and share a son, Brent. They also have children from previous relationships.
Gregg was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2018. He underwent chemotherapy and went into remission the following year. But last June, his wife confirmed that the cancer had returned and was more severe. Gregg’s cancer battle was documented on the series until he left the show early last year.
Over the weekend, NeNe reportedly told patrons of her Duluth, Georgia, bar, the Linnethia Lounge, that her husband was “transitioning to the other side.”
