Gregg Leakes, 63, is on the mend after completing chemotherapy treatment for his stage III colon cancer — so much so, it called for a celebration. His wife and caretaker NeNe Leakes, 51, was happy to deliver the news to HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE interview at the Associates For Breast and Prostate Cancer Studies Mother’s Day Brunch in Beverly Hills on May 9, where she was honored with the Woman’s Achievement Award. “Gregg is doing really well. He did a PET scan a couple of days ago,” the Real Housewives of Atlanta star told us, referring to a scan that can diagnose cancers. She explained, “Next week he will get the results to see if he has cancer in his body — has it spread, does he need more chemo?” Her husband finally finished six months of chemotherapy on April 3, and NeNe is staying optimistic despite her lingering questions.
“I’m pretty sure that Gregg is going to be good. I just can see it,” NeNe continued. “When I look at him, it’s like, ‘You look great! You’re going to be fine. You look amazing!'” As proof, NeNe and Gregg even celebrated. “He rang the bell or he hit the gong and he wanted to have a party so we had a party at our house for him,” NeNe revealed to HollywoodLife, saying that it was “like an old school kitchen party” with dancing involved, which was overall a “really good time.”
Like Gregg’s health, his marriage with NeNe is also seeing an uphill trajectory. “We’re doing good. We hope to be doing great, but we’re doing good,” NeNe told us, but also agreed that she does often break down from all the stress. The New Normal star previously admitted that Gregg’s illness had been “so hard” on their marriage in a separate interview with HollywoodLife in Nov. 2018. Since then, the couple has tried to change that. “We actually stepped into a therapy for the cancer — a therapist,” NeNe said, and noted that “it’s been really helpful” because they’ve been “through a lot.” Elaborating on that, NeNe explained, “Gregg was absent from our marriage for almost a year, so it was a lot.”
Even though NeNe’s the primary caretaker, she did admit to receiving additional support from their immediate circle and an online community. “All of Gregg’s guy friends — I was really proud of how they stepped up. We had a lot support,” NeNe told us, camaraderie of which she even found through the Bravo fan base, as fellow caretakers would send her emails empathizing with her “pain.”
NeNe first revealed Gregg’s cancer diagnosis in June of 2018. They were married between 1997 and 2011, and after a brief divorce, remarried in 2013. They share a 20-year-old son, Brentt Leakes.