Leakes died peacefully in his home surrounded by his family, according to a statement from his publicist, Ernest Dukes.

“Today the Leakes family is in deep pain with a broken heart. After a long battle with cancer, Gregg Leakes has passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by all of his children, very close loved ones and wife NeNe Leakes,” Dukes told People.com on Wednesday.

She said this is why she may have come across as rude to fans.

“People approach and say, ‘You’re rude because you don’t want to say happy birthday.’ My husband is at home, dying,” she explained, adding, “Sometimes you don’t know what people are dealing with and what people are going through, OK? My husband is not going to be here in the next couple of days, OK?”

Gregg Leakes was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2018. Although the disease went into remission after treatment, his wife confirmed that the cancer had returned this past June.

Gregg and NeNe Leakes first tied the knot in 1997 before getting divorced after Season 4 of “The Real Housewives Of Atlanta.”

NeNe Leakes was a main cast member on many seasons of “RHOA,” and her husband appeared in more than 80 episodes.

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