It came out in April that NeNe Leakes, former star on the Real Housewives of Atlanta for 11 cumulative seasons, had filed a lawsuit concerning the reality series that brought her recognition. NBCUniversal, Bravo, other production companies and execs like Andy Cohen are all named as defendants for purportedly allowing “racially insensitive” behavior in the workplace, in Leakes’ view. Now, the 54-year-old is embroiled in a different lawsuit, but this time she’s the one being sued.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Malomine Tehmeh-Sioh has accused the reality star of sleeping with her husband, Nyonisela Sioh, while they were still a couple, claiming the infidelity ultimately ruined their marriage. She also claims that NeNe Leakes flaunted the situation on social media by posting several pics of herself with him online. Tehmeh-Sioh is, consequently, suing for upwards of $100,000 due to emotional stress and loss of affection from the circumstances.
Per the outlet, this lawsuit falls under one of the rare instances where someone can sue a spouse’s extramarital partner for “alienation of affection.” In North Carolina, where the suit was apparently filed, the legal term simply means that the quote-unquote “other woman” can be held liable for taking the love meant for a partner by law. Only six other states in the country seemingly operate by these statues.
The allegations come less than a year after the death of Gregg Leakes, NeNe’s husband of two decades. The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum held a celebration of life memorial for him at the time, which was followed by some drama over who of her former castmates did or did not decide to attend. She has maintained that life without her longtime partner has been difficult to deal with, but she also hinted at least once that she felt “inspired” by the messages from men sliding into her DMs in the wake of the tragedy.
One imagines Bravo et al would’ve loved to turn the complicated current situation into some kind of dramatic storyline for the Real Housewives of Atlanta if at all possible. (The new Season 14 is currently airing on Sundays and streaming next-day with a Peacock Premium subscription.) Obviously, though, it’s unlikely that NeNe Leakes will ever again sashay back onto the show, given the still-ongoing lawsuit against the network. She had warned that she was going to take legal action for some time before she actually followed through, saying frequently online that Andy Cohen and others involved in production were “racist.” The infamous TV personality maintained in the new lawsuit that her complaints of racism concerning a certain co-star in particular while filming were often ignored by those in charge.
As of this writing, NeNe Leakes hasn’t yet responded publicly to the disgruntled wife’s claims nor provided an update on her Bravo suit. However, her Twitter bio continues to read that she’s been “blacklisted” and “abused” for speaking up regarding the latter.
