NeNe Leakes Speaks Out After 23-Year-Old Son Brentt Suffers "Very Scary" Stroke

Brentt Leakes, the 23-year-old son of Real Housewives alum NeNe Leakes, was hospitalized in Atlanta after suffering a stroke. Get the latest update on his health from NeNe herself.

By Jess Cohen Oct 10, 2022 6:45 PMTags
Watch: NeNe Leakes Speaks Out After 23-Year-Old Son Suffers Stroke

NeNe Leakes is thanking supporters after her youngest son's major health scare.

On Oct. 10, TMZ, citing sources with direct knowledge of the situation, reported that Brentt Leakes was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack and stroke. Shortly after the news emerged, NeNe addressed her 23-year-old son's health in a video message to fans, noting it's not how they wanted the story to come out.

"We wanted to be able to talk about it ourselves when Brentt was in a better place," the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum began her Oct. 10 Instagram Story video. "So, here I am, because I would rather the correct thing be out there than something that's not correct."

"Two weeks ago today, Brentt had congestive heart failure and a stroke," she continued. "He's only 23, so he's really young for something like that to happen to him."

NeNe, who is also mom to 32-year-old son Bryson, went on to note that doctors wondered if drugs or an infection led to Brentt's condition. However, as she made clear, "Brentt doesn't drink or do drugs. And obviously they've tested him for all of those things. They also tested him for HIV. They were thinking that maybe he had caught COVID and he didn't know that he had COVID."

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Despite running a number of tests on Brentt, doctors are still trying to determine the cause. 

"It was very scary," she added. "I don't even want to go into details. What happened and how I found out and what condition he was in. Obviously a stroke is a very serious thing. And so he's struggling you know, with speaking and it's, just know that keep us in your prayers. Keep bringing your prayers."

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NeNe, who noted that Brentt seemed to be in good spirits after FaceTiming her this morning, also reflected on her own health history.

"If you remember some years ago, I had blood clots in my lungs and we could not figure out where it came from," she said. "So they're thinking that it may be Brentt was born with some sort of disease or something with his heart since he was a kid and it just never showed up until now. Like we don't know this is just a lot for us right now. And everything is still very new."

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This health scare comes one year after Brentt's dad Gregg Leakes died at the age of 66 following a battle with colon cancer. In a follow-up Instagram Story post, NeNe mentioned that Brentt "was very stressed out" last month as it was the first anniversary of Gregg's passing.

"And I don't even know if that has anything to do with it at all," she said. "I mean, I really asked the doctors really questions like that. And they seem to think that that is not the case with Brentt."

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