Former 'RHOA' Star Nene Leakes Wants to Be 'Happy' After Debuting New Love Months After Husband's Death
Nene Leakes has one goal in the wake of the death of her longtime husband Gregg: to be happy. The 54-year-old former Real Housewives of Atlanta star lost Gregg in September after a three-year battle with colon cancer. The two had been together since 1996 and had one son together. They married in 1997, divorced during Season 4 of the reality show, and remarried by Season 5. Now, Leakes has debuted a new man she's dating, something she said her husband approved ahead of his death. Despite some fans feeling the Bravo feeling she moved on too quickly, Leakes says life is too short to put her life on pause and she let it be known in an Instagram post. "I just wanna be happy….that's all," she captioned a photo of her smiling alongside a heart emoji and the hashtag, #onelife.
Leakes is dating a businessman named Nyonisela Sioh. Sioh owns a couture suit company in Charlotte, North Carolin, and is from Liberia, Africa. Leakes was introduced to Sioh from Peter Thomas. Thomas was previously married to Leakes former BFF and co-star, Cynthia Bailey.
It's unclear how long the pair have been dating but Leakes says Gregg gave him her blessing. In an exclusive interview with The Shade Room, Leakes recalled one of her final conversations with Gregg. "I will love Gregg forever & ever! Grieving is hard! Even harder & depressing alone," she said. "Gregg and I had a very tearful conversation before his passing. His words to me were 'be happy, keep smiling and he who finds you, has found a good one.'"
Leakes was photographed with Sioh at her 54th birthday party last week. She and Gregg's son Brent threw her a surprise party at her Georgia lounge. Days later, Leakes shared photos of her and Sioh celebrating in Miami, Florida. A source told Access Hollywood that the two are "in love."
Sioh is a father also. He has a son. He's also apparently a designer within the suit company he owns. Last month, Sioh posted a photo of himself, writing "The moment you think you know something inside-out is the moment you stop listening. That's when you go backwards faster than you progressed." Leakes replied, "I like all of it."