Nene Leakes is speaking more about her decision to seemingly shade her former BFF and Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Cynthia Bailey. Recently, Leakes spoke about Bailey’s absence from her longtime husband Gregg’s memorial service. The two former castmates had been estranged for years. Though Bailey didn’t attend the memorial, she did visit Leakes at her Georgia restaurant and lounge, The Linnethia. But apparently, Leakes wasn’t impressed.
“She didn’t even come to the repast,” Leakes said during a radio interview on V-103’s Atlanta. “She did come, like, a week later after everything was done. She came by my lounge.”
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In an interview with E! News’ Daily Pop, Bailey responded to Leakes’ claims. “Let me just say this first: I know that NeNe is still mourning the loss of her husband,” she said. “And you can’t tell people how to mourn…However, I do think that—you know, speaking for myself—I came with the best of intentions. I was not able to make it to Gregg’s celebration but it was my mission in life to make sure I connected with NeNe once I went back to Atlanta. And I did.” Bailey explained that she and her husband Mike Hill were in LA at the time of Gregg’s ceremony.
Bailey continued: “When we did connect, for me, it was even better than if I had gone to the celebration because I got to spend some real-time with her one on one,” she added. “We laughed, we drank, we smoked hookah, we danced. I was like, this is the way it was supposed to be, because I felt like I had at least reconnected with my old friend on just a respectful level. And that’s why I was there. I’m very clear that we’re not friends any longer. But in the spirit of the beloved Gregg Leakes, I wanted to go and sit with my old friend.”
Leakes is following up on Bailey’s recent interview. She took to her Instagram page to share a lengthier explanation of her comments. “I was asked about if Cynthia attended Gregg’s repast no she didn’t,” she said. “I answered the question very honestly. I’m a very honest person, um, she did not attend. Did it bother me that she did not attend? No it seemed like it bothered other people because other people are always coming to me asking me about it. It didn’t bother me. She showed up a week later at the lounge, great.”
As far as Bailey’s recollection of their time at The Linnethia, she agrees. “We had an amazing time. I think she said somewhere we had a great time,” she said. “It was awkward for about 10 minutes then we had a great time. We had an amazing time, we laughed, we partied, we had a ball. It didn’t really bother me okay? It just didn’t. Gregg’s sickness was what it was. He understood what he was going through. He knew he was going to die.”
Bailey says she had the help of fellow RHOA star Marlo Hampton orchestrate her reunion with Leakes. Leakes and Hampton remain close friends. Other Housewives in attendance included Porsha Williams, Phaedra Parks, and Kenya Moore.
