Nene Leakes Is Returning to Bravo After Suing the Network in 2022

When you think of reality TV royalty, one must bow down to Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes. She is by far one of the best in the game, as her hilarious and often dramatic antics on The Real Housewives of Atlanta created a glossary of terms such as "bloooop" and meme-able quotes that are now part of our everyday vernacular. Our sis is everything some of the new girls think they are.

Alas, NeNe's time on RHOA abruptly ended in 2020, leaving a void that, to many fans, still hasn't been completely healed.

Since she left, the top inquiry about her has been if she'll ever reclaim her peach. While NeNe hasn't confirmed she's returning to the show, TMZ reported in January 2026 that she will be part of the network's series, The Real Housewives: Ultimate Road Trip. She will reportedly only be involved in the Atlanta leg of road trip, which will feature every city within the franchise.

While neither NeNe nor Bravo has confirmed the rumors about her return are true, her being back on the network would come after her controversial blowup that led her to take legal action against them.

Let's have a refresher on NeNe's lawsuit against Bravo.

NeNe sued Bravo in April 2022, as well as RHOA's executive producer, Andy Cohen. The suit, which came two years after she confirmed that she was leaving the show after 12 seasons, claimed that Bravo and Andy allowed a "racist and hostile work environment on set." According to E! News, NBCUniversal, True Entertainment and Truly Original were also named as defendants in the Atlanta federal court case.

"For years, NBC, Bravo and True have fostered a corporate and workplace culture that has permitted and tolerated—if not encouraged—racially offensive and insensitive conduct, statements and actions by their employees," the lawsuit continued.

NeNe also accused Bravo of favoring her former RHOA co-star, Kim Zolciak-Biermann, though she chose not to involve Kim as a defendant. In the court documents, she claimed Kim, who was the only white cast member on a Black-centered series, was allegedly allowed to engage in microagressions without much consequences.

"From the outset, Zolciak-Biermann was allowed and permitted to engage in racially-offensive conduct and/or make racially-offensive statements without any meaningful consequence or remedial action from NBC, Bravo or True," the lawsuit stated.

"Upon information and belief, instead of taking appropriate remedial action, NBC, Bravo, and True granted Zolciak-Biermann preferential treatment and special privileges and perks that were not afforded to her Black counterparts. This created a two-class system."

Four months after she sued Bravo, NeNe decided to end her legal battle with the network. According to People, court documents showed that the Glee alum "dismisses this action and all claims asserted by Leakes without prejudice."

"All Parties consent and stipulate to the foregoing dismissal," the document read. "No party will seek recovery of costs or attorneys' fees in any submission to this Court."

The decision was a joint stipulation dismissal without prejudice between all parties, meaning she can reopen the case whenever she chooses. However, NeNe is seemingly choosing peace instead. The news of her possible Bravo return comes after Andy confirmed at BravoCon 2025 that he had been in contact with NeNe in recent months.

The OG confirmed as much during an interview on former RHOA producer Carlos King's podcast, Reality With the King. During their chat, NeNe said that she and Andy didn't discuss her future with the network, as he was reaching out to check on her son, Brentt, who had been hospitalized for congestive heart failure earlier that year.