• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Black Celeb Couples

NeNe Leakes Confirms She's Dating Menswear Designer Nyonisela Sioh: 7 Things To Know About Him

From the travels that inspire his work to his friendship with Peter Thomas, which reportedly brought him and NeNe Leakes together, here's some insight into Mr. Sioh.
NeNe Leakes Confirms She’s Dating  Menswear Designer Nyonisela Sioh: 7 Things To Know About Him
Instagram
By Victoria Uwumarogie · Updated December 20, 2021

NeNe Leakes is speaking out about rumors that she’s dating someone new, and the TV personality says the rumors are true.

After TMZ reported last week that she was dating a Liberian-born businessman by the name of Nyonisela Sioh, she told The ShadeRoom, “We’re dating! We’re friends.”

Photos of Leakes and Sioh first surfaced after he celebrated her birthday (Dec. 13) with the star and her celeb friends. The two were photographed together, and soon after, she promoted his work, the bespoke menswear line Nyoni Couture, in her Instagram Stories.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nene Leakes (@neneleakes)

Over the weekend, they also shared a kiss at his own birthday celebrations, a smooch was captured on camera. They since been seen holding hands in Miami, where he was ringing in this new year of life.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom)

As she told TheShadeRoom, spending time with Sioh has helped her cope with grief. Husband of more than 20 years, Gregg Leakes, died in September after a battle with colon cancer that began in 2018. She says he encouraged her to move on before his death.

“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.'”

Now that she’s cleared the air, people are asking, who is Nyonisela Sioh? Only those close to him truly know, but here is some light insight into his work and life.

He’s Well-Traveled

Sioh was born in Monrovia, Liberia. However, he would end up moving around West African countries because of the First Liberian Civil War. From there, he moved to Europe (traveling to France, Italy, Britain, the Netherlands and more) and eventually, settled in the U.S.

He Is a Designer

All of that exposure was likely inspiring for Sioh, who has created his business, Nyoni Couture, offering bespoke tailoring of suits, tuxedos, shirts and more. His work as designer, doing tailoring, has allowed him to travel and make his mark worldwide on men’s style.

“I started in the D.C. metro area selling to clients; I travelled frequently. It started with friends asking me to bring back certain pieces on my trips to Italy. Later, it evolved into orders being placed by friends,” Sioh told News-One. “I then started taking trips to Italy strictly to fill orders. When I moved to Charlotte, it became the birthplace of the store. Hence, you can say Charlotte is the birthplace of Nyoni Couture as you see it today.” 

There is the “flagship” location in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as one in Atlanta (the latter is a newer location). Appointments only!

He Has an Important Connection to Peter Thomas

Sioh has worked with Peter Thomas, whom we know from his appearances on The Real Housewives of Atlanta while married to Cynthia Bailey. According to TMZ, it was Thomas who introduced Sioh and Leakes. And for the record, outside of just getting Thomas well-suited and booted, he counts the entrepreneur as a good friend. Sometimes they joke about who has the better beard (that’s a tough one!).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nyoni (@nyoni_couture)

He Was Married, Too

He was asked during his 2020 interview with News-One about his personal life and said he “is married and has been happily married for years. I have two handsome boys and a beautiful daughter.” It’s unclear if that marriage has since ended or is in the process of ending.

He Wants to Represent Well for Liberia

“My hallucination was always to put my country on the map in a more positive way as opposed to civil-unrest, poverty, and corruption” he has reportedly said in the past.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nyoni (@nyoni_couture)

He’s Dressed Some Stars

In addition to Thomas, he’s dressed actors, singers (like Anthony Hamilton) athletes, ministers (like Jamal Bryant), music producers and more.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nyoni (@nyoni_couture)

He’s Clean

If you own a menswear line you can’t step out looking shabby. If you scroll through the Nyoni Couture IG account, Sioh is perhaps the brand’s best model for the suits and more. He’s described his style as “natural, artistic, romantic and hints of the modern metropolitan gentleman with a heavy influence of a combination of British, Italian and French tailoring.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nyoni (@nyoni_couture)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nyoni (@nyoni_couture)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nyoni (@nyoni_couture)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nyoni (@nyoni_couture)

TOPICS:  gregg leakes NeNe Leakes
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now