Advertisement

NeNe Leakes says 23-year-old son suffered a stroke, heart failure: ‘It was very scary’

NeNe Leakes in a blue halter gown on a red carpet
NeNe Leakes arrives at the BET Awards on June 26, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
(Richard Shotwell / Invision / Associated Press)
Share

Former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star NeNe Leakes is asking fans for support and prayers as her son, Brentt Leakes, faces “serious” health issues.

“Two weeks ago today, Brentt had congestive heart failure and a stroke,” she revealed in an Instagram Story on Monday. “He’s really young for something like that to happen to him.”

TMZ reported Monday morning that Brentt was hospitalized in Atlanta earlier this month. On Instagram, Leakes walked her followers through her son’s diagnosis, noting that doctors thought that he could be dealing with “some serious infection,” HIV or COVID-19. She said medical experts ran a number of tests, but the cause remains unknown.

Advertisement

NeNe Leakes had a health scare, yes, but it wasn’t a heart attack, the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star said Tuesday.

Nov. 19, 2013

“It was very scary, I don’t even want to go into details. What happened, how I found out and what condition he was in,” Leakes continued. “Obviously, a stroke is a very serious thing and he’s struggling with speaking ... Just keep us in your prayers.”

While speaking on her son’s condition, Leakes brought up her own health issues. She recalled having blood clots in her lung in 2013 and said that doctors are “thinking that Brentt was born with some sort of disease, or something with his heart since he was a kid and it just never showed up until now.”

She also said that her son was “very stressed out” last month, as it marked one year since his father, Gregg Leakes, died in September 2021.

The Leakes family ‘is in deep pain with a broken heart’ after the death of Gregg Leakes, NeNe Leakes’ husband and longtime reality TV costar, at 66.

Sept. 1, 2021

Leakes added that the Linnethia Lounge, a bar near Atlanta her son helped run, may be up for sale due to his recent health issues.

“This is just a lot right now on me, so if there’s anybody out there that’s possibly interested in the lounge, send them my way,” she said. “If they are interested in purchasing it, it’s very possible that we will sell the lounge, because it is something that I shared with Brentt after Gregg’s passing.”

Despite the club’s potential sale and the health issues, Leakes reassured her followers that her son is “in good spirits.”

Advertisement

NeNe Leakes, former ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ star, sues the companies behind the show, alleging they fostered a racist work environment.

April 21, 2022

The news comes months after Leakes sued Bravo and NBCU, alleging that the companies behind the “Real Housewives” franchise fostered and tolerated a hostile and racist work environment.

“NBC, Bravo and True foster a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated — if not, encouraged,” said the lawsuit filed in April.

Advertisement