After a “long journey,” NeNe Leakes is returning to Bravo. The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum shared the news on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
“Confirmed! The Tastiest Peach Is Back,” she captioned a post on Instagram. In an accompanying video, the RHOA alum was overcome with emotion.
“This has been a really long, long journey,” Leakes said while fighting back tears. “I’m happy, overjoyed to say that I will be returning to Bravo. I almost can’t even believe the words that are coming out of my mouth. I’m so happy, I’m just so happy.”
She is joining the new spinoff series The Real Housewives: Ultimate Road Trip (working title).
Real Housewives franchise executive producer Andy Cohen confirmed the news earlier in the day on his SiriusXM radio show “Andy Cohen Live.”
“She’s gonna be making an appearance… When we go to Atlanta,” Cohen said. “We are going to be celebrating 20 years of Housewives, and it would be hard without her. I’m happy about it.”
His comments came after TMZ broke the story on Tuesday. The outlet reported Leakes would have a “notable presence” on the upcoming spinoff, but would not be a full-time cast member.
Leakes, 58, was a fan favorite on RHOA. As an original cast member, she appeared on the reality show from 2008 to 2020.
Then in April 2022, she filed a lawsuit saying she had endured a racist and problematic workplace culture behind the scenes, and her complaints went unanswered. The lawsuit named NBCUniversal, Bravo, and production companies True Entertainment and Truly Original, along with Andy Cohen as defendants.
“NBC, Bravo and True foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially-insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated – if not, encouraged,” the suit said.
Four months later, she dropped the lawsuit. “All Parties consent and stipulate to the foregoing dismissal,” read court documents submitted in August 2022. While no reason was given for the dismissal, online reports suggested there had been some type of settlement.
Leakes has been slowly making her way back to Bravo. In 2024, parent company NBCUniversal hired her to co-host the post-Emmy Awards coverage on E!.
Since leaving The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the Bravolebrity has hosted Zeus network’s The Baddies: East reunion show, worked as a podcaster, and hosted her own show titled Outrageous Love With NeNe Leakes on Lifetime.
She’s also taken on acting jobs, including a guest role last year on Netflix comedy The Upshaws alongside fellow RHOA star Cynthia Bailey. Leakes additionally had acting roles on Glee and The New Normal, and she guest-starred on The CW’s Dynasty reboot and BET’s First Wives Club.
It’s unclear how many episodes of The Real Housewives: Ultimate Road Trip will feature Leakes. Andy Cohen announced the show in November at BravoCon 2025, with the series expected to debut later this year.
The series is part of Bravo’s programming marking 20 years of the Real Housewives franchise.
“In this special event series, a group of beloved Housewives from across the years embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, making their way through some of the most memorable locations in the franchise’s history,” Bravo recently announced.
The show will start in Orange County, California, where the franchise launched, before pivoting to episodes featuring East Coast cast members for a grand finale.
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