A few weeks ago, it was reported that Claudia Jordan is leaving "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Now, another cast member has announced that she is leaving the hit Bravo franchise — original Housewife NeNe Leakes.
In an exclusive statement to People magazine on Monday, June 29, the 47-year-old reality star, who is the last remaining original cast member, revealed that she would not be returning to the reality show for its eighth season. Leakes said that this was a hard decision for her.
"Me and my husband [Gregg Leakes] have been going back and forth on it for weeks now. But my contract is up and I just think this is the right time," she told the magazine.
She added that this will also be the perfect opportunity for her to pursue new projects. The reality star revealed that she is about to start filming a new primetime television show "with a big legend" this week. She said that all of her fans will get to see the "happy, witty, and funny" NeNe Leakes that they love and will hear all of the one-liners which she has made famous on the Bravo show.
The star also took to Twitter to share the news with her followers, and she started by saying that she was crying as she typed the message.
"Thank you so much to everyone that has watched and supported me over the years on this amazing platform!" she wrote.
Andy Cohen later tweeted that the Bravo family loves Leakes and "she is always welcome back to the house she helped build!"
Leakes said that during her time on the show, she felt that at times she was a target and she certainly won't miss the negativity. She added that some of the ladies will be happy because they never got their chance to shine while she was on the show.
When asked what her decision means for "RHOA," Leakes said she doesn't know if the show will survive without her, but she hopes that it does.
"It will just have a little bit of a different tone without me there, for sure," she said.
