*Bravo has addressed NeNe Leakes’ announcement that she’s exiting “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” and won’t be returning for the show’s upcoming 13th season.
EURweb previously reported… in a video posted to her YouTube channel on Thursday, Leakes confirmed that she will not be returning to the hit franchise that made her famous.
“I have been on an extremely, extremely long, exhausting, tiring, emotional negotiation,” she said. “There’s been a lot of emotion flying from both sides. It has been hard, and I have made the very hard and very difficult decision to not be a part of ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta,’ Season 13. It wasn’t an easy decision for me. It was hard.”
Leakes went on to reminisce over her time on the series, which began during the show’s debut season in 2008. She took a break from the show during Seasons 8 and 9 only to return for Seasons 10-12.
READ MORE: Nene Leakes Posts YouTube Video Saying She’s Not Returning to ‘RHOA’ / WATCH
Following news of her exit, a rep for Bravo said in a statement to 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.”
The network also hinted that Leakes could return to the series in the future.
“She’s been instrumental since the start and will truly be missed, and maybe one day she’ll hold the peach again,” the statement concluded.
In her video — titled “Listen Closely, I got something to tell you!” — Leakes said “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.”
Leakes ended her message by promising, “I will see you again. Real soon.”
