NeNe Leakes Announces She Quit Real Housewives After 'Emotional Negotiation'!

Sadly, it’s true! Real Housewives Of Atlanta fans must bid adieu to NeNe Leakes!

The 52-year-old face of the franchise in the Southeast took to her YouTube page on Thursday to share the news with her fans that she will not be returning for the 13th season of RHOA.

The rumor mill has been buzzing with talk NeNe had been fired from the show for months, though her business manager insisted back in June that negotiations were still ongoing.

That was confirmed by Leakes, who referred to those negotiations as “extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional.” That same month she retweeted a fan who wrote:

“I wouldn’t watch RHOA without Mrs. @NeNeLeakes she is what keeps me watching the show, she cracks me up!”

Seems like maybe she was trying to communicate to the network just how important she was to the show. Maybe so she could get a big salary bump??

Here’s what she revealed in her vid as she announced her departure:

“Thank you to all of you guys that have been showing me a lot of love and support as of late. I feel you, I hear you. I have been on an extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation. There has been a lot of emotion flying on both sides. It has been hard, and I have made the very hard and difficult decision to not be a part of Real Housewives of Atlanta season 13.”

Defending her decision to fans she knew would not be happy, she continued:

“It wasn’t an easy decision for me. It was hard. I started on The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2008. We took off like a rocket. I mean, we took off. You could have never told me that I would start on this little show and it still be going strong 13, 14 years later. And it is. I’m just so happy that I can say that I was a part of a genre that opened up doors for Black ensemble reality shows to step up and be a part of what we all now love so much, reality TV.”

She ended her statement by promising:

“I will see you again. Real soon.”

See the entire announcement video (below):

A Bravo rep responded to the news by telling People:

“We wish Nene all the best in her future endeavors and thank her for sharing her journey for over a decade with the fans of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She’s been instrumental since the start and will truly be missed, and maybe one day she’ll hold the peach again.”

Will YOU watch RHOA without NeNe Leakes?? Let us know in the comments (below)!

[Image via NeNe Leakes/Bravo/YouTube.]