Wendy Williams has spilled some tea about her friend Nene Leakes—but it might not be entirely true after all.
The talk show host revealed Tuesday on her eponymous talk show that her good friend Leakes had sent her a text message that morning saying she was quitting The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
“I took a break between commercials…I had to go to the bathroom and so I looked at my phone between commercials, and Nene texts [saying], ‘I’m quitting,’” Williams told her audience.
“I know something about Nene that you all will cry, be sad, feel bad for her. She’s carrying the weight of a huge thing on her shoulders,” she continued, before denying that this tea had anything to do with her husband, Gregg, or her health.
Williams, who was chatting with her protegé Jerry O’Connell, then went on to share a message with Leakes through the TV.
“You need this platform to explain the other part of your life,” she suggested, referring to RHOA. “You’ve got that secret and that secret is going to melt their hearts. When she shared it with me, I cried with her Jerry [O’ Connell.]”
The closeness between Williams and Leakes is not the only reason the audience had no trouble believing the news. The current 12th season of the show has been particularly rough for Leakes as lingering conflicts with several cast members have kept her isolated from the rest of the group. Her fellow castmate Tanya Sam also referred to her being “in a bad place” during filming on last Sunday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live.
Leakes also posted a cryptic message on her Instagram page earlier this week that read: “Sometimes our biggest blessings are wrapped up in a goodbye.”
While it may appear that Leakes is completely out the door those on Team Kenya might not want to start celebrating just yet.
Leakes’ representative told ESSENCE in a statement Wednesday, “It’s been an especially difficult couple of weeks for Nene, and she was venting to her friend in private correspondence. Nothing has been confirmed or officially decided for next season.”
Bravo had no comment.
Following Williams sharing the news on her show, Leakes played it coy by neither confirming nor denying her departure from the show on social media. Instead she simply shared a picture of her with her mouth ajar on Instagram featuring the iconic Real Housewives of Atlanta catchphrase” “WHO SAID DAT!?!?!
Leakes then went to Twitter to vent again, writing: “Private conversations should be left in private! What are girlfriends for if you can’t vent to them on those type of days.”
Leakes told ESSENCE last year that the two have an amazing friendship.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever met someone and you become like fast friends? Like, you know, you start talking to them and it’s like, man, it feels like I’ve been knowing you for 10 years,” she explained of her friendship with Williams. “So, I think that’s the kind of connection that she and I have. It just feels…it’s easy, it’s natural. It’s like having a big sister. It’s just really easy.”
Joi-Marie McKenzie contributed to this report.