RHOA star NeNe Leakes’ 23-year-old son suffers stroke and heart failure
‘So, here I am because I would rather the correct thing be out there than something that’s not correct,’ Leakes said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes has confirmed that her 23-year-old son Brentt has suffered a stroke and congestive heart failure.
Following reports on Monday (10 October) that Leake’s son had suffered a heart attack and heart failure, the TV personality, who is also known for her role on Glee, addressed the news on Instagram the same day.
“This is not the way I wanted it to come out. We wanted to be able to talk about it ourselves when Brentt was in a better place,” Leakes said.
“So, here I am because I would rather the correct thing be out there than something that’s not correct,” she explained.
“Two weeks ago today, Brentt had congestive heart failure and a stroke. He’s only 23, so he’s really young for something like that to happen to him,” she continued.
“The first thing you know, a lot of doctors think of when they come in with that kind of condition is maybe they’ve done drugs, or maybe they have some serious infection, maybe HIV or some sort of infection is what I’m being told by the doctors.”
Leakes further said that her son doesn’t “drink or do drugs” and that he’s tested negative for HIV.
Congestive heart failure is a very serious condition that occurs when the heart doesn’t pump blood as efficiently as it should.
She continued: “They were thinking that maybe he had caught Covid and he didn’t know that he had Covid. It was very scary. I don’t even want to go into details about what happened and how I found out, and what condition he was in.
“Obviously, a stroke is a very serious thing, and so he’s struggling with speaking.
“Keep us in your prayers,” she added.
Brentt owns a lounge in Atlanta and is the son of Leakes and the late Gregg Leakes, who died in 2021 from colon cancer at age 66.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments