NeNe Leakes Wedding & Marriage to Gregg - How It's Different the Second Time, She Explains [EXCLUSIVE]
Before NeNe Leakes' second wedding to Gregg Leakes plays out on screen in the her new spin-off show, premiering Sept. 17 on Bravo, the reality star talked about how things are different now in terms of her relationship with her husband and the long trek they made back down the wedding aisle.
In I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding viewers will see planning for the star-studding wedding all the way down to the cake and the nine "bridesmaidzillas," as NeNe called them. The show will also provide a glimpse into the couple's dynamics.
NeNe and Gregg first married in in 1997 in Athens, Ga., and their divorce was finalized in September 2011. Since then, they have evolved as individuals and have come back together. They remarried on June 22. Together they have one son, Brentt, and NeNe has an older son, Bryce, from a previous relationship.
Reflecting on her first marriage to Gregg, NeNe remembers being a bag of nerves.
"I was super nervous the first time i got married," she said. "I was a nervous girl. Not so much this time because the first time you marry, you know, you don't really know what your getting yourself into but the second time, for me, I really understood what i was getting myself into. so I wasn't as nervous."
Her June 2013 wedding was an extravagant affair and "quite different" from her first marriage to Gregg, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star explained: the couple had a different - notably higher - budget, a lot of security personnel on call and numerous celebrity guests.
"The first time we didn't have any of those things," she said.
NeNe talked about what makes her and Gregg a stronger couple now compared to when they went into their first marriage. They both have experienced so many highs and lows in their lives, and have surpasses the difficulties, that they got back together with more knowledge of simply how to handle life.
"I think the second time for Gregg and I, we've really grown," NeNe said. "We are grown, as in adults and so we get it. We both have been through things in life so we understand life and relationships much better this time around. We both are adults so we understand relationships and we want to have a marriage, and that is for the long haul."
Fans will get to see their commitment on screen, but NeNe explained that at first she was reluctant to have her wedding taped and aired on television. She was asked to do a spin-off many times in the past and turned down the offers. She was also as adamant about letting viewers back in to her personal dealings with Gregg because the whole world saw them break up on TV.
In the end, they wanted fans to share their joy leading up to their wedding and even on the big day.
"We really wanted to invite everybody back into our lives the second time around and see us get married this time, and see a lot of the things that we go through as a couple," she said. "I think for Gregg and I we were not only planning a wedding, we were planning a marriage, and it's a big difference."
I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding premieres Tuesday, Sept. 17, 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.
