"I'm okay with returning to the show as long as we can work through a few things," the reality star said Thursday on The Real
Published on November 4, 2021 09:35AM EDT
NeNe Leakes might not be done with The Real Housewives of Atlanta after all!
Leakes, 53, revealed her interest in returning to the Bravo show on Thursday during an appearance on The Real, noting that she has some "unfinished business" to address.
"Yeah, sure. I'll return to the show," Leakes told hosts Loni Love and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais. "I'm okay with returning to the show as long as we can work through a few things. I'd be happy to return to the show."
The Real
Before she can do so, however, Leakes said she has some things to hash out with executive producer Andy Cohen.
"I think Andy and I were really close for a really, really long time and I love Benny Boo [Benjamin] and I helped pay for his baby shower and all those things," the star said. "I think that Andy and I need to have a sit-down and talk and we're off to the races!"
The Real
Leakes, who is one of the original cast members from RHOA's 2008 premiere, first announced her departure from the show in September 2020 on her YouTube channel after what she described as "an extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation."
"There has been a lot of emotion flying on both sides," she said in the video, adding that it "wasn't an easy decision" to make. At the end of her message, she told fans, "I will see you again. Real soon."
Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Bravo wished Leakes "all the best in her future endeavors" in a statement confirming her departure from RHOA and thanked her "for sharing her journey for over a decade" on the show before leaving the door open for a potential return.
"She's been instrumental since the start and will truly be missed, and maybe one day she'll hold the peach again," the statement said.
In an exchange with fans shortly after her announcement, Leakes suggested that Bravo didn't think she deserved to work "at all in any [capacity]." When asked if she was forced out, Leakes said, "They definitely did."
NeNe Leakes. Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images
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Last October, Leakes told Extra's Billy Bush that she could have returned to the show if she wanted, and even "had an offer" on the table.
"I am very hopeful that we can work out our relationship out behind-the-scenes without everyone being involved," Leakes told Bush, 50.
The Real airs weekdays on Fox.
