Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Nene Leakes is opening up about the final days she shared with her late husband, Gregg Leakes.
In a new, nearly 15-minute-long video titled “I’m Lost Without You” posted to YouTube on Monday, the RHOA alum shared how “her life changed” on Sep. 1st, 2021, the day her husband died. For context, Gregg had been battling colon cancer since 2018. Though he was in remission for two years, the cancer aggressively returned in 2021.
“My life was turned upside down after losing my husband Gregg, now I’m forced to navigate life alone after sharing it with my partner of 27 years,” she captioned in the video. “I have taken time to reflect and now look forward to new beginnings. I’m hopeful for what life will bring and welcome you to witness my journey.”
As the video began, Nene recalled the morning when she noticed Gregg looked different than the days prior. He had been receiving around the clock home hospice caretakers in the last weeks leading up to his death, but on that day, he looked and acted different.
“That morning I came downstairs, Gregg looked totally different than the way he had previously looked and I got really upset. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, what happened to Gregg? What have you guys done to him?’” she explained. “He was pulling and fighting and kind of like, just trying to take his shirt off and he was just totally different. He had not ever been this way. Yes, I knew he was passing but I just thought somebody had done something to Gregg.”
She went on to share how her husband was ‘very confused, he wasn’t aware anymore” and was struggling to breath. After being assessed by his nurse, Nene gave the OK to administer a small amount of morphine to him to help him relax—though Gregg previously stated he preferred not to receive it as he wanted to “go naturally.” It wasn’t long after that he fell asleep and never woke up again.
Prior to his passing, their family and close friends had been on a rotating visiting schedule with him to talk and keep him company. In the moments leading up to his passing, Nene said that they all gathered in the foyer of their home to pray. Afterwards, when she was informed that he had transitioned, Nene called for the arrangements she set up prior to come get his body and hold him in a private location before the blogs and news sites could find out.
“Gregg, we miss you so much. I love you so much,” she tearfully said later in the video. “You said to me before we passed, ‘it’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna be hard baby, but you can do this.’ And I want you to know that it is hard, but I am doing it. I am doing it, but it is hard. You told me ‘you’ll find another love one day.’ But I don’t want to find another love, oh my God. It’s not that way, I love you Gregg. I love you, I miss you.”