Photo: Instagram
Gregg Leakes was diagnosed with cancer in 2018. How is he doing now?
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on May 15, 2019
Gregg and NeNe Leakes got some good news this week, with the recent revelation that Gregg’s cancer is entirely gone. The Real Housewives of Atlanta stars have been supporting one another through a scary time after Gregg was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer last year. After going through chemotherapy, Gregg is now doing great and both he and NeNe are celebrating the news. Previously, their marriage was in trouble, but the uncertainty about his health has been one of the things holding them together.
What’s next for this Bravo couple? Read on for more details. Who is NeNe Leakes' husband?
1. Diagnosis
In June of 2018, Gregg started having health problems and finally sought medical attention. On the fall premiere of RHOA, NeNe recounted the day of his diagnosis, saying “It was Cinco de Mayo. Gregg was in excruciating pain. Like, I’ve never seen him say, ‘I’m hurting so bad, the pain is so bad in my stomach.’ And finally, he said to me, ‘Take me to the hospital.’” Medical staff identified the problem as colon cancer, which came as a shock to the couple. “I guess the scariest part about all of this is when we got to the hospital and the doctor saying that, ‘We need to do surgery on you tonight or you ain’t going to make it,'” Gregg said. “I went over and prayed to God and I told him, ‘If it’s time, let’s go,’ “‘I don’t fear death, I don’t want to go. If my work is finished here, take care of them, let’s go.” He also revealed to the audience that he had written a not for NeNe in the event that he didn’t survive. “Writing that note was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. But, you never know what’s in you until you’re at that door. I never thought I had it in me — to fight cancer. Now, I’m going to beat cancer’s ass,” he says.
Cancer had a major effect on the couple.
2. Treatment
When the couple initially sought information about treating Gregg's cancer, they were concerned about the effects of chemotherapy. NeNe told audiences: “Chemo is not something that Gregg is thinking about doing at the moment. Obviously we hear all the reports of people doing chemo and being very sick. So he feels like if there are any other options that he can take, I’d rather take those options and let chemo sit on the back burner for now.” When they visited with medical staff at MD Anderson Cancer Center, oncologists were cautious about recommending alternative treatments. The doctor they consulted said that alternative medicine methods “have [not] been studied in a more rigorous way,” or have been found effective. “We’re certainly supportive of patients who want to think about how to integrated that,” he said. “Unfortunately, there’s nothing that we have that I can recommend in lieu of the chemotherapy that we know could help reduce that risk.”
Gregg took that under advisement but still didn’t agree to start chemo at that time. Because his scans showed no evidence of disease at the time, he opted against chemo, despite doctors telling him that chemotherapy was a strong option to prevent the cancer from recurring.
The couple met with oncologists to discuss treatment.
3. Chemo
However, Page Six reported in April that Gregg had eventually agreed to chemo. The doctors had told him it was the best bet to keep cancer from coming back in the future and he agreed to undergo the treatment.
The couple has been through a lot.
4. Cancer free
Page Six reports that Leakes posted to Instagram this week to let fans know that Gregg’s latest tests showed good news. The RHOA star said: “Look at God! We are overjoyed to say, we saw the doctors for the results of Gregg’s Pet Scan he took last week! Test show, wait for It…..WE ARE CANCER FREE!!! Yes God!” She went on to add “Now I can go give Gregg a black eye since so many thinks he’s abused [sic].”
Gregg Leakes is cancer free.
5. Divorce?
The good news about Gregg’s health might be bad news for the future of their marriage. The couple is on their second attempt at being married, having wed in 1997, divorced in 2011, then remarried one another in 2013. Now, their relationship is struggling again and the two have admitted to sleeping in separate rooms and seeing a counselor to help them get through their struggles. On a recent episode of the show, NeNe confessed. “It would be easy to make a decision about divorcing Gregg if he didn’t have cancer. I don’t want to live my life unhappy.” Gregg was also open to the possibility that their marriage might not be meant to last. “The reward might not necessarily be that we are husband and wife at the end,” Gregg added. “The reward might be that we are best friends at the end.”
The pair may divorce for the second time.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.