NeNe Leakes Wedding Reality Show 'I Dream of NeNe' Focuses on Marriage and Motherhood
NeNe Leakes who gained fame as a housewife on Bravo's "Real Housewives of Atlanta" is stepping into her own spotlight. NeNe now has her own reality show, "I Dream of NeNe," which premiered Sept. 17 on Bravo. The show focuses on NeNe's re-marriage to Gregg Leakes. Fans will see NeNe struggle to understand her stepchildren, bridesmaids from hell and work to rejuvenate her relationship with Gregg.
Bravo approached NeNe several times about her own show, but she as not ready until recently.
"Although I was the first Atlanta housewife they offered a spin-off to, I never took it because I always felt like it would be hard work," NeNe said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "So, when Gregg and I got married, we got engaged last year...Bravo heard about it and asked us if we would do our wedding on television."
At first, NeNe thought Bravo only wanted a two-hour special. Soon she found out Bravo was interested in an eight episode series. After discussing it with Gregg, NeNe gave in so that her fans can witness her and Gregg's newfound happiness.
"It is a lot of work because I executive produce the show - my work is doubled," NeNe told Entertainment Weekly. "I'm having to shoot three scenes a day, changing clothes three times in one day to do different scenes. So I'm just constantly working. You know, when it's your show, you got to promote it. You have to push it. You have to make this thing work."
The extended work is new to NeNe whose television experience comes mostly from being one of six stars in "Real Housewives of Atlanta."
"Now, when I'm on 'RHOA,' it's six of us pushing and pulling. So the work isn't as heavy a load because they've got all the pushing and pulling, but this time it's all about me," NeNe told Entertainment Weekly.
In "I Dream of NeNe," one of NeNe's most difficult talks is bonding with the children from Gregg's first marriage who blame NeNe for Gregg's first divorce.
"It's hard to talk about, but Gregg's kids were never seen on 'RHOA,' and that was an issue with his kids," NeNe said in an interview with ET. "Once 'I Dream of NeNe' cameras started rolling, we wanted to bring them on, but that was one of the issues we had. There were people who wanted to come on camera, but we didn't feel like it was for the right reasons."
This component makes "I Dream of NeNe" a lot deeper than a wedding special.
"In 'I Dream of NeNe,' we get into that. We talk about the children and how it was difficult for us to blend our families," NeNe told Entertainment Weekly. "There are people out here who can really relate to that because that's real. So we do all that. This is not just about a wedding, this is about a marriage because Gregg and I are not children. I've been there once before, and it was to Gregg. We're talking about a marriage, longevity, how we make this marriage last forever."