Former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star NeNe Leakes confirmed Monday that her 23-year-old son, Brentt Leakes, had suffered a stroke and congestive heart failure, according to multiple media outlets.
Shortly after TMZ first reported news of the medical emergency, Leakes took to Instagram to state that her son had been hospitalized two weeks prior and that doctors were still working to determine the cause of his condition.
“It was very scary. I don’t even want to go into details of what happened and how I found out and what condition he was in,” she said in the since-deleted video. “Obviously, a stroke is a very serious thing, and so he’s struggling with speaking. ... Keep us in your prayers.”
The TV personality told her social media followers that doctors had “run a number of tests” on her son and that the medical team caring for him are “still trying to figure [it] out.” Doctors suggested that he could have been born with a previously undetected heart condition, she said.
“If we knew the cause, obviously they could treat the cause,” she said.
Leakes also said on Instagram that her son had “shown some improvement” and that he was in “good spirits” Monday morning.
The former reality star had Brentt Leakes with her late husband, Gregg Leakes, who died in 2021 after a battle with colon cancer. The couple first wed in 1997 before divorcing in 2011. They reconciled and remarried in 2013.
NeNe Leakes told People last year that her husband was surrounded by family and friends before his death at age 66.
“The last five days before his passing was really beautiful,” she said at the time. “All of his children were there. His best friends were there. Our closest friends were there. We all sat with him around the clock.”