NeNe Leakes is back, baby!
The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alumnus will make her long-awaited return to Bravo following Page Six’s exclusive report on negotiations to appear on the upcoming “Real Housewives of Ultimate Girls’ Trip.”
“This has been a really long, long journey,” an emotional Leakes, 58, wrote on Wednesday, posting selfie-style videos on Instagram.
“I’m so happy to say I’m coming back to Bravo. I can’t even believe the words coming out of my mouth. I’m so happy. I’m so happy.”
She went on to thank all the showrunners and producers, including executive Andy Cohen, who “worked hard to make this happen” and “kept throwing[her]name in the ring over and over again.”
That includes former co-stars Porsha Williams, whom she called her “sister,” and Phaedra Parks.
“Thank you so much,” Leakes exclaimed, before continuing, “I’m really looking forward to doing this! I can’t wait to meet all the girls. It’s going to be the best! Yes! Bitches, I’m back. Now look up from the floor, okay? I’ll see you on Bravo. I love you!”
Underneath the post, Cohen wrote, “We couldn’t celebrate 20 years without you 👏,” as the next spinoff will be made to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Real Housewives series.
He went on to tell the radio show’s listeners about the road trip-style show, “She’s going to be on it. When we go to Atlanta, she’s definitely going to be there. … People are really happy about it. Listen, we’re celebrating 20 years of ‘Housewives,’ and… it’s going to be hard without her. So I’m happy about that.”
Cohen, 57, later revealed on “Watch What Happens Live” that the show’s working title is “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th,” and the main cast includes Williams, Vicki Gunvalson, Luann de Lesseps, Teresa Giudice, Kyle Richards, Gisele Bryant and Lisa Barlow.
Last month, Page Six revealed that Leakes was “in talks” with Bravo to join the next season of RHUGT, which is scheduled to film early this year.
Cohen announced the show at Bravocon in November 2025, during which he also revealed that he and Leakes had actually been “texting several months ago.”
Her return to the network is significant.
As fans may recall, Leakes quit “RHOA” in September 2020 despite her OG status.
“I’ve been in a very long, exhausting, exhausting, emotional negotiation process,” she announced at the time, explaining that there were “a lot of emotions flying around on both sides.”
She ultimately made the “very difficult, very difficult decision” to leave the series ahead of season 13.
In April 2022, the mother of two filed a bombshell lawsuit against Bravo and Cohen and their affiliates, accusing them of “fostering a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated, if not tolerated, and encouraged.”
Ms. Leakes claimed that she was “kicked out” of “the house she built” in part because of her complaints of racism.
However, after four months of “negotiations” between the parties, Leakes moved to dismiss the case “without prejudice”, allowing him to reopen the case at a later date.
