NeNe Leakes is officially back where it all began.
Six years after her dramatic departure from The Real Housewives of Atlanta, the reality television icon has made her long-awaited return to Bravo, giving longtime fans a moment many never thought they would see again. Leakes is appearing in The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th, Bravo’s celebration of two decades of the Real Housewives franchise.
For fans who watched Leakes help turn RHOA into one of Bravo’s biggest franchises, her comeback carries plenty of nostalgia. She was one of the show’s original stars and became known for her sharp humor, larger-than-life personality, memorable one-liners and willingness to say exactly what was on her mind.
Now, after years away from the network, Leakes is once again stepping into the Bravo spotlight.
The comeback comes as Bravo celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Real Housewives. Roaring 20th brings together Housewives from across the franchise, with the cast traveling through several cities and revisiting some of the personalities and moments that helped make the series a reality-TV institution. More than 80 Housewives alumni are expected to appear throughout the nine-episode celebration.
Leakes’ appearance is especially significant because she left The Real Housewives of Atlanta following Season 12 in 2020. Her exit came after years of being one of the central figures on the series and followed a complicated period between the reality star and the network.
When news of her Bravo return first broke in January, Leakes herself sounded genuinely emotional about the opportunity. In an Instagram video, she described it as a “really long” journey and said she was happy and overjoyed to be returning to Bravo. She also expressed excitement about seeing the other Housewives again.
That reaction made the comeback feel like more than just another reality-TV casting announcement. For Leakes, returning to Bravo represented a major full-circle moment.
Her relationship with the network had become complicated after her departure from RHOA. In 2022, Leakes was involved in a legal dispute involving Bravo, NBCUniversal, True Entertainment and Andy Cohen. The situation added another layer to the question of whether she would ever return to the network.
For years, fans continued to speculate about a possible comeback. Leakes occasionally addressed the possibility herself, while viewers debated whether the franchise could ever truly recapture its old energy without her.
There were even moments when rumors suggested she might return to The Real Housewives of Atlanta itself. In 2025, however, Leakes pushed back on reports that she had been offered a spot for Season 17, saying producers had never actually offered her a return.
That made her eventual Bravo comeback all the more surprising.
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