Nene Leakes reveals she's done with The Real Housewives Of Atlanta after 11 seasons with on the show

Nene Leakes is leaving The Real Housewives Of Atlanta.

The 11 season veteran announced that she was done with the Bravo favorite in a YouTube video on Thursday.

In the clip Leakes, 52, said that she decided she was done with the show after going through ‘exhausting’ and ’emotional negotiations with the network.

Leakes revealed her big news in a YouTube video titled: ‘Listen Closely, I got something to tell you!’

After thanking fans for their support at the top, Nene opened up about her departure.

‘There’s been a lot of emotions on both sides. It’s been hard and I have made a hard, difficult decision to not be part of Real Housewives Of Atlanta season 13,’ she said. 

‘It wasn’t an easy decision for me. It was hard,’ the TV favorite went on. 

Nene reflected on how important the show’s diversity was saying: ‘I’m just so happy that I can say that I was part of a genre that opened up a door for Black ensemble reality shows to step up and be a part of what we all now love so much: reality TV.’

Leakes’ farewell was also full of gratitude, as the star said: ‘I want to thank everybody that has looked up to me over the years. …I want to thank Bravo for all the memories. …Thank you to the cast for all of the memories.’

Andy Cohen was quick to send Nene his love after the announcement, calling her ‘an icon of the genre.’ 

‘She is a gif and catchphrase machine,’ Cohen, the show’s executive producer, went on. ‘In 11 years of #WWHL, Nene has been our most frequent guest, and she is always A BLAST. 

‘Nene nicknamed me “Buttercup” the first day we met, and still calls me that today. Through her whole run, she has always had a serious concern and drive to maintain the success and well-being of #RHOA. 

‘I am going to miss Nene on the show, but I’m hoping we work together again soon and will,’ he wrote before signing off as Buttercup.

Shortly after Andy’s message, a representative for Bravo called the star ‘instrumental’ to the show’s success.

‘We wish Nene all the best in her future endeavors and thank her for sharing her journey for over a decade with the fans of The Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ they told People. 

And they didn’t discount the idea of her returning in the future, going on to say: ‘She’s been instrumental since the start and will truly be missed, and maybe one day she’ll hold the peach again.’

This isn’t the first time the reality star has parted with the show.

In season eight she took a step back as only a part-time ‘guest’ before going on to skip season nine completely.

In between Nene enjoyed a number of TV roles, appearing on Glee, The New Normal, and E!’s Fashion Police.

But it seemed Bravo couldn’t keep Nene from the Hollywood Of The South for long. 

She returned to RHOA during the 10th season and has been on the show since. 

While there were rumblings that Leakes was ready to leave – or even canned from the show – over the summer, her manager Steven Grossman said she was still in talks over her contract on June 18th.

‘It is absolutely not true that Nene has been fired from RHOA,’ Grossman said. ‘Furthermore, it was made abundantly clear prior that she will always be welcome on the series as long as she wants to be.’

He assured people things were in motion, telling the outlet they were ‘having on-going bigger picture conversations with NBC Universal and have not made any decisions regarding next season specifically. Any speculation or sources trying to create controversy by stating otherwise are incredibly inaccurate. Bloop.’

But just the day before that Leakes posted a since-deleted tweet (captured by LoveBScott) which said: ‘You are NOT gonna get away with this! I promise.’

She continued to hint at the idea of leaving that same day, retweeting a fan who declared: ‘I wouldn’t watch RHOA without Mrs. @NeNeLeakes she is what keeps me watching the show, she cracks me up!’

As an anchor of The Real Housewives, Nene has always been a magnet for drama.

This last season she feuded with a majority of the cast, finding herself at odds with Cynthia Bailey, Porsha Williams, Eva Marcille, Kandi Burruss and rival Kenya Moore. 

Nene also feuded with former series regular Kim Zolciak-Biermann, accusing RHOA’s only white star of racism several times throughout their time together. 

Zolciak – who stars in her own spin-off Don’t Be Tardy – has yet to comment on Leakes’ leaving.

But Kandi seemed to hint at the news on her Instagram Story, sharing a text post that said: ‘Learn the difference between a real friend and a close hater’ with GIFs of hands clapping around it.

Back in July Nene appeared to call Buress a ‘sociopath’ after Kandi said she would be upset if Leakes left the show but still described their relationship as being like ‘oil and water.’

Kenya seemed more focused on herself, sharing an outfit shot captioned ‘Firmly grounded’ around the same time as Nene’s departure was announced.

Leakes isn’t the only one saying goodbye to the show. In June Eva Marcille revealed she was done after a three season stint. 

‘I appreciate the bond of friendship that I’ve made with my castmates and strong personal relationships I have with numerous executives and producers of Bravo,’ she said June 16th on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. 

‘I am thankful for the opportunity I was provided, however, after speaking with my family and representatives, I believe that what I hope to accomplish for the culture and community will be better served by focusing on other opportunities.’