Shereé Whitfield may trust that her boyfriend is being reformed in prison, but fellow Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member NeNe Leakes isn’t so sure.
Whitfield revealed to her castmates last week that her boyfriend Tyrone Gilliams is currently serving time in federal prison for white collar crimes.
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Leakes was shocked, as in season four, Gilliams was the subject of a massive fight when a deal between the two fell through due to what she called “shady” business dealings.
“Shereé’s taste in men is confusing,” she confessed in Sunday’s episode. “But if she has found love in a prison bae, I am all the way here for her.”
When the Housewives are touring San Francisco, Leakes make a crack about Whitfield’s man being in a facility similar to Alcatraz. When asked about what she means, Leakes calls the man “a con artist,” and reveals their past together.
“Did he con you?” Kandi Burruss asks.
“I’m too smart for that,” Leakes replies, to her castmates’ eye rolls.
She says she knew something was off about him however, and accuses him of embezzling $4 million, or “a lot of money” from his former employer.
“I just hope he don’t con her out of Château Shereé,” Leakes adds, referring to the Housewife’s iconic residence.
Later, on the train to Napa, Leakes confronts Whitfield to her face about her boyfriend’s past.
“When we went out, we had a great run,” Whitfield says. “It was fun.”
“He’s gonna come out tricking though,” Leakes tells her, before adding, “Tricking the stocks like when he went in.”
When Whitfield clarifies Gilliam is in prison for securities and wire fraud, not stocks, Leakes is uninterested.
“Being a con artist is being a damn con artist,” she confesses. “There’s no way you can put a cherry on top of that and make it make sense.”
She continues, emphasizing for the camera: “He’s in pri-son.”
Last week, Whitfield admitted that she was unaware Gilliams had been convicted of a crime until he had to report to prison.
The two had lost contact for years before they reconnected, she revealed, and began dating about eight months before his prison sentence.
“I didn’t know he went away! We broke up,” she said. “We stopped talking before he went to prison because he didn’t want to get me involved in any of that.”
They got back together, however, and Whitfield said she’s really connecting with him.
“You know what, honestly, I’ve gotten to know this man on a much deeper level,” she told PEOPLE Now last month. “Probably deeper than I’ve ever known anyone. We have nothing but time to talk and get to know each other.”
“He’s a good guy and, you know, he supports me. I can talk to him about anything. He’s my best friend,” she continued. “He just got caught up in the wrong craziness, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”
Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.