NeNe Leakes is mourning the death of her husband, Gregg Leakes, who died of colon cancer at age 66.
A publicist for the former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star, 53, shared the news of her husband’s death Wednesday in a statement to TODAY.
“Today the Leakes family is in deep pain with a broken heart,” the statement said. “After a long battle with cancer, Gregg Leakes has passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by all of his children, very close loved ones and wife NeNe Leakes.”
The statement continued, “We ask that you pray for peace and strength over their family & allow them to mourn in private during this very, very difficult time.”
The news of Gregg Leakes' death comes three days after his wife posted an image of the word "Broken" on Instagram. The post also included heart and praying hands emoji.
Leakes, who appeared alongside his wife on "RHOA," was first diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2018. After undergoing chemotherapy, he went into remission for two years.
In June 2021, NeNe Leakes shared an update revealing that her husband had undergone surgery because his cancer had returned.
“He’s been in the hospital for a week, tomorrow,” the former reality star said during an Instagram Live segment with the Jasmine Brand, according to People magazine.
“I’m sure he’ll be home in about a week or so. He had to have a surgery," she added.
Leakes said her husband's cancer bout had been "difficult" and she noted that he had lost weight. “He’s super small,” she said. “If you’ve ever been around somebody who’s had cancer before, he’s different. He’s different.”
The longtime couple — who previously married in 1997 and divorced in 2011 before tying the knot again in 2013 — had been honest about the toll that Gregg Leakes' cancer diagnosis took on their family, including their son, Brentt, 22, and their six children from previous relationships.
“It’s definitely not easy. The moment we found out he had cancer, everything about our life changed,” NeNe Leakes told Bravo’s the Daily Dish in November 2018.
“It was just hard. It’s hard on him. It’s hard on me. It’s hard on our entire family. It’s hard being a caretaker. It’s hard being a patient. It’s a lot of decisions you have to make, so it definitely has not been easy. It’s been probably the hardest thing — it really takes over.”