The Traitors Season 4 features an interesting cast, including Dancing With the Stars champion Mark Ballas and NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce's mother, Donna Kelce. But one star who won't be included on the show is Real Housewives of Atlanta's NeNe Leakes. This is despite rumors that she would be signing on. But why didn't she?
Leakes recently answered this question in an interview on an episode of the Humble Brag with Crystal Minkoff & Cynthia Bailey podcast. In her chat with Minkoff and Bailey, Leakes admitted that she had been asked to join Traitors, but she was unable to do so.
NeNe Leakes Reveals Why She Said No To 'The Traitors' Season 4
"I was asked to do Traitors — I was really excited about doing it, by the way," Leakes said on the podcast. "I couldn't do Traitors because my son is in the hospital, and he's still in the hospital. My son's been in the hospital since May."
Leakes has opened up about her youngest son, Brentt's, health conditions before (he had a stroke at 23), and has had a heart transplant. In the episode, Leakes discussed the complications and how Brentt's body was rejecting the transplant. He had to be hospitalized, and his recovery time was extended. Not joining Traitors is not something that the reality TV star regrets, though, as she said she was "glad" to have turned it down.
"I kept thinking maybe Brentt would be much better [by June]," she explained of being offered the position on the show. "My fear was committing and then having to go back to them and say, I can't do it. So that was never going to work. Brentt was very sick. It was no way I could have committed to it. And I believe you have to go out of the country [to film the show]."
Still, she did want to be a part of The Traitors Season 4, referring to it as an opportunity "to do all these great things and come back really strong." However, her son's health came first, and Brentt is doing much better. Leakes said he is now walking and talking, which he was not able to do before.
What Has NeNe Leakes Said About Her Son's Health?
NeNe Leakes has two sons from her relationship with her late husband, Gregg Leakes. They are Brentt Leakes and Bryson Leakes. In October 2022, she updated fans on Brentt’s health, saying he had congestive heart failure and suffered a stroke, Reality Tea reports.
Reality Tea reports that in an Instagram post in October 2024 (which appears to have since been deleted), Brentt shared an update with fans, letting them know he had undergone a heart transplant. "In July of this year, I went into a 14-hour heart transplant surgery and now have a brand new heart in me. Now that I'm back (still in recovery), I've essentially had to relearn how to walk and communicate, but I'm even more fluent," he wrote in an Instagram caption.
He continued, "This experience has FOREVER changed my life. I am so thankful to the family that donated the heart!"
