Gregg Leakes

Leakes met NeNe in 1996, and the couple married for the first time on June 22, 1997. Together, they had a son named Brentt Ahmad Leakes, born in 1999. Leakes was also a stepfather to NeNe's son, Bryson Rashard Bryant. From previous relationships, Leakes had five other children: sons Daryl Leon, Damian Bernard, Dexter Lewis, and Denton Gregory, and daughter Katrina LaShawn.

After more than a decade of marriage, the couple separated and divorced in 2011. They later reconciled, announced their second engagement in 2013, and remarried on June 22, 2013.

In November 2018, Leakes was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. Although he entered remission in 2019, the cancer subsequently returned. He died from the disease on September 1, 2021, in Duluth, Georgia, at the age of 66.

Before his emergence on television, Leakes built a career as a real estate investor and consultant based in Atlanta, Georgia. His business background provided the foundation for his professional life prior to joining unscripted television.

Leakes entered the national spotlight in 2008 when The Real Housewives of Atlanta debuted on Bravo. Throughout his tenure on the series, his relationship with NeNe and his backing of her various entertainment and entrepreneurial pursuits served as central storylines. In addition to his primary role on the reality franchise, Leakes made guest television appearances alongside NeNe on programs such as Celebrity Family Feud and MasterChef USA.