NeNe Leakes' Son Brentt Leakes Recovering After Heart Transplant Surgery 8
In a recent Instagram post, the 25-year-old revealed that he is recovering after undergoing heart transplant surgery.
Brentt wrote:
“To begin with, let me say, “Thank you, God.” This year was undoubtedly the craziest for me. After several trips to the hospital and many doctors appointments, I finally heard the unexpected news that I was diagnosed with “congestive Heart Failure” On June 19 (Ish), ?
In July of this year, I went into a 14 hour heart transplant surgery and now have a brand new heart in me. Now that I’m back (still in recovery) I’ve essentially had to relearn how to walk and communicate, but I’m even more fluent.
NeNe Leakes' Son Brentt Leakes Recovering After Heart Transplant Surgery 9
This experience has FOREVER changed my life. I am so thankful to the family that donated the heart!
A huge thank you to MY MOM, marshella , Nyoni, Big Janae , Nikiyah, my friends, doctors, nurses, and everyone else who was pushing, pulling and praying me thru this??
Never give up. ??”
Alongside the message, Brentt shared several videos of him slowly walking in the hospital following his surgery. In the video he can be heard saying, “I’m walking, y’all. I can’t believe I’m back walking, y’all. Been a couple days since I walked. Thank God.”
He also shared several photos of him lying in his hospital bed following surgery.
Naturally, NeNe Leakes commented on the post, writing, “To God Be The Glory! It has been A LOT! I am so proud of how strong you’ve been thru this process son.”
RHOA alum Marlo Hampton also commented on Brentt’s post: “Love ya, nephew, I always tell you.. your covered by the … ,”
On Wednesday’s episode of RHOSLC, Mary Cosby and Heather Gay get into an explosive fight after Mary and Angie Katsanevas accuse Heather of being two-faced.
During Wednesday’s episode of RHOSLC, Mary Cosby slammed Heather Gay by saying, “Everywhere you drop, and everywhere you stop, it’s a lie.”
The drama began when Mary inserted herself into Lisa Barlow and Brittany Bateman’s conversation at Angie Katsanevas‘ Mafia-themed anniversary party.
“What are you guys talking about?” Mary asks her RHOSLC co-stars.
“You, we were talking about you,” Lisa tells her before Brittany adds, “We were talking about how fabulous your outfit is.”
Lisa then asked Mary if they were on good terms after they minced words while ziplining last week.
“This is just my thing, Lisa. Like if I get into it with somebody, you’re automatically going to take that person’s lie,” Mary said, referring to when Lisa defended Heather during their outing.
Last week, Lisa stood up for Heather when Mary said, “You champion body positivity, and now that’s a lie, too.”
Mary Cosby body shames RHOSLC co-star Heather Gay
Lisa defended standing up for Heather, telling Mary, “No, I felt for Heather in the moment, because I feel like you were bringing up stuff that, like, really hurt her.”
Despite the attempts to change Mary’s mind, she remains steadfast in her opinions about Heather.
“It’s not jiving with me that she’s leaving trails of lies,” Mary said, to which Lisa responded, “But I think she felt hurt. And she was trying to express that to you.”
Heather then enters the conversation. Mary swiftly tells her, “Everywhere you drop, and everywhere you stop, it’s a lie.”
The RHOSLC OG gets angry at Mary’s accusation. Heather tells Mary: “That’s extremely hurtful,” and “Don’t you f–ing tell me when I’ve lie.”
“Don’t you dare, don’t you dare,” Mary fires back.
“So if I tell you the truth, facts of you on you, you say it’s a lie,” Heather continues. “Don’t push me, I’ve been a good friend to you.”
Mary replies, “Don’t push me. You’re a liar. Ask God who’s a liar.”
“God knows,” notes Heather.
“Yeah he does know. And he knows all about you,” Mary adds.
Mary continues, telling Heather, “Whatever I say behind your back, I say it to your face.”
“That’s not honorable. To say horrible, mean things to my face, did I do that?” Heather questions, prompting Mary to ask “Name a time that you’ve been good to me?”
Meanwhile, Heather and Mary’s drama is overshadowed by Whitney Rose’s drama with RHOSLC co-star Lisa Barlow.
Whitney Rose and Lisa Barlow butt heads while filming season 5 of RHOSLC.
Whitney mentions the Alibaba rumors about her Prism jewelry line, suggesting Lisa planted the story, but doesn’t provide any proof to support her claims. Naturally, Lisa blows up over the accusation, saying, “Tell me who it was, I will sue them!”
Lisa then calls her private investigator to investigate these claims and “go the distance on it.” She then attacks Whitney’s husband, Justin Rose, which leads to a scuffle between him and her husband, John Barlow.
Jennifer Aydin reveals why she believes the RHONJ franchise wouldn’t work without OG Teresa Giudice.
According to Jennifer Aydin, RHONJ wouldn’t work with OG Teresa Giudice, noting that most Real Housewives franchises “lose” some of their “luster” when an OG is let go from the cast.
“It takes time to get invested in new characters, and Teresa really is the OG from the beginning … I feel like the audience is really invested in Teresa,” Jennifer Aydin said on My Friend, My Soulmate, My Podcast. “And especially with her four daughters thriving and her new life with Louie, I feel like there’s so much interesting content.”
The 47-year-old Bravo star admits that she hopes “Teresa comes back” with “a few [castmates] that get along with her” for season 15.
Jennifer Aydin Says RHONJ Wouldn’t Work Without OG Teresa Giudice 24
“But at the end of the day, I believe, I believe [if] they were going to keep anybody, for sure I would say Teresa … I don’t think the show could be Housewives of New Jersey with a few of us and not Teresa,” she confesses.
Jennifer also notes that when an OG is “removed” on Real Housewives, the show “somehow loses a little luster.”
The future of the New Jersey Housewives franchise as we know it remains uncertain. Andy Cohen recently shut down casting rumors about season 15 after gossip spread like wildfire across social media. The Real Housewives of New Jersey franchise is on pause as Bravo figures out how to revamp the franchise. Andy Cohen and Bravo have confirmed that they are considering every option, including a full reboot.
“It’s not happening. We’ve made no decisions on [RHONJ],” Andy confirmed on the October 15 episode of SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live.
Jennifer Aydin Says RHONJ Wouldn’t Work Without OG Teresa Giudice 25
The Watch What Happens Live host then shut down Jennifer‘s claims that she is officially back for season 15.
“What? No! Jennifer Aydin confirmed that she’s returning? No, no, no. We’ve done nothing. We’ve done absolutely, I mean, well, no. Actually, we’ve done plenty, but that’s not, that’s not what’s, no,” Andy insisted. “She said that on her Instagram Live? Wow. Alright. Okay. No.”
“[But] wait until Bravo or I [say] something. How about that?” he added.
RHONJ alum Lexi Manzo speaks her truth about the abuse she and her mother, Dina Manzo, endured at the hands of Tommy Manzo.
Lext Manzo is no longer staying silent. Instead, the 28-year-old RHONJ alum is “poking the bear” and exposing the abuse she and her mother, Dina Manzo, endured at the hands of her stepfather Tommy Manzo. She also calls out her family members for betraying her and her mother by turning a blind eye to Tommy’s crimes.
On Tuesday, October 15th, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that Thomas “Tommy” Manzo was sentenced to “84 months in prison for hiring, then assisting, a soldier in the Lucchese Crime Family to assault his ex-wife [Dina Manzo]’s current husband.”
In addition to prison time, Tommy Manzo received three years of supervised release.
In an open letter on her blog, Boho Chicken, Lexi Manzo reveals her truth after years of silence. In the post, she slams her mom’s sisters, Caroline Manzo and Cookie Laurita, as well as other family members, for remaining loyal to Tommy Manzo despite his abuse and crimes toward Dina and her new husband, Dave Cantin. She also exposes the fact that many other family members remained silent amid Tommy’s abuse and crimes.
RHONJ alum Dina Manzo celebrates the holidays with her daughter Lexi Manzo and husband David Cantin
The RHONJ alum wrote:
“Don’t poke the bear.” We’ve all heard the expression, preached it, and subscribed to the mindset that we are powerless against those we perceive to exert dominance over us. Bears are formidable creatures, embodying an immense strength that elicits both fear and respect. For over a decade, I have kept silent in fear of poking Tommy Manzo, my stepfather of fifteen years—a proven to be dangerous man, who won the loyalty of my blood family.
I could write a novel as to what made Tommy such a complicated man to be raised by, but instead I’ll speak to how I came to fear a man who promised to keep me safe and what it feels like to lose the love of my extended family. Many of these family members were also figures I feared to confront, leaving me emotionally stranded.
Tommy has known me since birth. My mother’s sister, Caroline, is married to Tommy’s brother Albert, making us “family” from the start. It wasn’t until I was six years old that my mother and Tommy began a romantic relationship that eventually led to marriage. The long history of these relationships created a deeply embedded belief in the connection of our modern family. We had trust in who Tommy was as a man.
Tommy was an enigma—an extravagantly generous and charismatic figure who captured the affection of everyone around him, earning the loyalty of church members, politicians, and law enforcement alike. To know Tommy was to love him. Yet beneath this veneer of charm lay a complexity of darker undercurrents, raising questions about the true intentions of his relationships and the reality behind the façade.
Behind closed doors he was an unavailable husband, a notorious cheater, and a workaholic. I watched as he dangled the promise of a better future in front of my mother while stripping away her confidence, breaking her down and using me as leverage in his manipulations. The hope of a single mother lies in finding a partner that loves their child. I now recognize these heartbreaks as sacrifices that my mother endured in loving me more than she loved herself.
My relationship with Tommy only ever scratched the surface, his dysfunctions prevented any real understanding between us. To me, he was a shadowy figure of a father who expressed love through transactional gestures. A forced seat on his lap and an awkward kiss on the cheek earned me a crisp $100 bill—a currency of affection I never asked for. He objectified me in his own strange ways as his beloved “daughter.” Tommy did love me, but his love for me was about himself. He was a financial provider, restoring some comforts lost after my parents’ divorce, but he wielded that power with a knowledge of what he could take away.
In 2012, my mother found the courage to leave her nearly twelve-year relationship with Tommy. Our family was imperfect, but certainly not hostile. At first the divorce was amicable as he was accepting of his failures as a husband. My mother found a temporary apartment of her own while I continued to live between the family home and my college dorm.
The psychological warfare started when Tommy realized that my mother had begun to move on. Forcibly removing me from our home without notice. “Forced out” barely captures the reality; he violently shook me awake on a sleepy winter morning, giving me just thirty minutes to “get the fuck out.” In that chaotic moment, I lost not only my home but also irreplaceable heirlooms collected over generations along with my childhood keepsakes. I mourn not only for myself, but for my future children, as these tangible connections to my family history have been stolen from us.
Tommy’s rage continued to manifest into acts of unspeakable violence, beginning with a calculated physical attack in 2015, aimed squarely at my mother’s new husband. A spineless act of jealousy and retaliation. This was followed by a harrowing home invasion in 2017, an attempt to instill terror in both my mother and her husband.
The unsettling truth was that the only person capable of being involved in such horrors was Tommy. For the years following he would insistently try to contact me, wielding me as a pawn in his twisted games and holding me emotionally hostage. These incidents were terrifying and involved the people closest to me. The memories of them cast a long, daunting shadow over our lives, each of us carrying our own experience of trauma and pain.
In April of this year, I sat in court listening to Tommy’s attorneys plead not guilty, weaving mine and his relationship into their defense narrative. They painted his actions as misguided attempts to protect me. As I listened to the testimonies from mob associates, friends, and law enforcement, the magnitude of his obsessive rage became painfully clear. His reach was unnerving, employing private investigators and violent men to track our movements over the course of many years. I found myself covered in a veil of shock and shame, struggling to reconcile how I could be raised by a person capable of such harm. Tommy’s guilt was ultimately established in the court of law, leading him to a prison cell.
Dina Manzo’s daughter Lexi
The fallout from my mother’s marriage to Tommy is a complex tapestry of emotions and betrayals. While strangers often offer empathy upon hearing our story, I find myself at a perpetual loss to understand how the man who tormented my mother garnered the support of my own family.
Caroline was more than an aunt to me; she often rocked me to sleep as a child and stepped in as a second mother, welcoming us into her home during the uncertain period following my mother’s separation from my father. Yet, in a staggering betrayal she would later choose the side of my mothers abuser and go as far as writing a character letter in defense of Tommy. What could compel someone to form an alliance with a felon over their own blood? Some might describe it as, “thick as thieves.” Meanwhile, my mother’s sister Cookie continued to be employed by him and even appeared in court in his support. A troubling lack of loyalty despite having once shared a home with us and bearing witness to Tommy’s darkness.
Other family members chose the path of silence—offering neither empathy nor acknowledgment, their complacency an acceptance to his crimes. I have been severed from a once-beloved village of aunts, uncles, and cousins, all because of these fractured alliances. My phone is yet to ring, perhaps this shows how cunning of a man Tommy is or how shallow humans can be.
For the last decade I have felt trapped within the layers of my own story, existing in silence and hesitating to confront those I feared. My mother, her husband and I have persevered despite these hardships, turning our pain into purpose and our trauma into truth. It wasn’t until I began to unpack these emotions that I thought to ask myself: Who really is the bear? Is it the people we fear, or is it fear itself?
Bears are docile in nature. They are passive creatures, the leaders of constructive rest and are notably peaceful amongst their tribe. Often minding their own business, until they are poked. A bears anger emerges when they are forcibly positioned to protect themself and their family. It is an honorable and purposeful rage.
In understanding the true spirit of the bear, I realized that Tommy was never the bear; I am. A devoted daughter coming to the defense of her mother and a keeper of truth who has been poked for far too long.
This piece is a declaration, a refusal to live in accordance to those who I once perceived to hold power over me. I share this truth not only for myself but for my mother and for all of those who quietly endure their pain. I invite you to reclaim your power if you feel you’ve lost it. Be the bear.
Jennifer Aydin recently opened up about a conversation she had with Andy Cohen about the casting rumor drama concerning season 15 of RHONJ.
The conversation happened because Jennifer Aydin had told a troll account she was coming back next season. Andy Cohen responded by wishing her well denying those claims and Jennifer recently said she and Andy had a conversation to clear things up saying it was a misunderstanding and no casting decisions have been made.
Jennifer Aydin’s co-star Margaret Josephs is now chiming in what she thinks about Jennifer’s comments. Appearing on SiriusXM’s Reality Checked with Dorinda Medley, Margaret reacted to Jennifer’s announcement saying, “I was like, “Whew.” That is not something you say lightly. I said, “Big mistake,” and when Andy debunked it, I was like, you know, she was putting her place. You don’t go around saying those things when we are on a hiatus and a break and no one’s getting the phone call, you don’t go around so cocky and behave that way. I would never be so presumptuous to say something like that and I think, you know, she was told exactly what the real truth is.”
Margaret Josephs and Jennifer Aydin
Dorinda chimed in adding, “I was so happy that Andy addressed it because the thing is it’s also sort of, it’s reckless.”
Margaret Josephs agreed replying, “It’s not acceptable. That is why we’re having issues on the show to start out with. Just like dial it back and everybody should pipe down.”
Margaret added that the cast knew it wasn’t true explaining, “Well, we knew it wasn’t true. I mean, you know, no one’s calling her and saying, you know, and not calling anybody else. I mean, that’s nonsense.”
RHONJ’s Jennifer Aydin and Margaret Josephs (Photo by: Greg Endries/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank)
The cast collectively have commented on the future of RHONJ with Margaret Josephs saying she wouldn’t return if certain co-stars came back but Andy Cohen has made it clear no decisions will be made until early 2025.
Angie Katsanevas isn’t playing when it comes to the drama on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City this season especially when it comes to co-star Lisa Barlow.
Throughout season 5 of RHOSLC, Angie Katsanevas found herself feuding with former bestie Lisa Barlow and not their drama is turning ugly.
From feuding at dinner parties on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City to duking it out on Twitter, the two former best friends can’t see eye-to-eye. Angie was recently asked by Ricky Cornish about her relationship with Lisa and if she thinks their friendship can be salvaged.
RHOSLC Season 5 Trailer Teases an Avalanche of Drama
During the interview, Angie didn’t hold back when addressing her current friendship status with Lisa.
“It’s actually disheartening. We have been close friends for a long time, we talked multiple times a day,” Angie said.
“I thought that we had a stronger friendship than that,” she added.
While Angie is hopeful she and Lisa can ultimately hash things at the RHOSLC season 5 reunion, she isn’t certain a reconciliation will happen based on Lisa’s continued social media antics.
RHOSLC: Angie Katsanevas Battles With Lisa Barlow and Meredith Marks on Social Media
“She’s still tweeting and being a t*** on Twitter like I’m too busy to respond,” Angie said. “Hopefully she’ll be able to calm down and talk to me at the reunion and we can find some resolve and move forward.”
Meanwhile, Lisa reacted to Angie calling her a “t***” on Twitter, saying, “Ewww such a trashy word.”
Frank Catania won’t be saying “I do” next month to fiancée Brittany Mattessich. Find out why the RHONJ couple have postponed their November wedding.
Dolores Catania‘s ex-husband, Frank Catania, was set to tie the knot with his fiancée, Brittany Mattessich, on November 9 at Captiva Island.
However, the RHONJ couple’s plans were thwarted after Hurricanes Helene and Milton swept through sunshine state over the last two months. As a result, Frank and Brittany have made the decision to postpone their wedding until March of 2025.
On Monday, Frank Catania told PEOPLE that he and Brittany held out hope their wedding could go on as scheduled but after Hurricane Milton hit Captiva Island in early October.
RHONJ’s Dolores Catania poses with Frank Catania and Brittany Mattessich at the couple’s wedding shower.
“Hurricane Helene first came through and brought so much sand onto the island that the pools were filled with sand, and the golf course and areas where the ceremony and the reception were to be held were also damaged by water,” Frank explained.
“Even though there was a possibility that the venue could have possibly been repaired for our wedding on Nov. 9, no work commenced because Hurricane Milton was coming the following week.”
Because of all of this, the RHONJ couple felt it was “better” to “reschedule for March 29, 2025, which gives the resort ample time to repair the resort back to perfect condition.”
Frank said he “received the news” and “held off” on telling his fiancée because he “did not want to see her reaction.”
“Although saddened and disappointed, Brittany took it much better than I expected,” he revealed, noting that Brittany was on board with delaying “for another date that was not in the hurricane season and would also give the resort enough time to repair the resort back to perfect.”
Dolores Catania’s ex-husband, Frank Catania gets engaged to longtime girlfriend, Brittany Mattessich
The 59-year-old adds that both he and Brittany did not want their wedding guests to “be inconvenienced in any way because of the damage,” adding that they “wanted it to be a happy and fun time for everyone without anxiety or worrying.”
“All of our vendors worked with us incredibly,” he continued. “They were all available for the new date and allowed us to change our contract to the new date without any additional charges and inconveniences.”
Frank proposed to Brittany in October 2023. The two met when Frank served as Brittany’s trainer for a fitness competition. They were friends for a decade before their relationship turned romantic.
To start, John Fuda shared the small perks associated with being on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
He said, “When I started, it was fun, it was exciting. There’s some perks to it, like little things. Like she’s getting a bunch of maternity clothes. That stuff is cool.”
However, he also mentioned the downsides of being on reality TV, saying, “I really don’t like the way that they basically put the men down. I think they put the men down. I think they’re abusive towards men, our careers.”
Rachel Fuda added, ”But I also think too, like, on specific to our franchise, like, it’s gotten so dark that thank God for the guys because what light and airy and fun would there even had been without them?”
The cast of Bravo’s New Jersey Housewives franchise.
Melissa Gorga said, “It’s so stupid, and you know what I have to say I’m actually proud of? Never has it ever once said Melissa Gorga is staying. Never once has that been said, so that should be proof to Bravo and to everyone else that it’s definitely not me that talks to the people and plants stories.”
“When we started the show, our daughter was three months old so we’ve never really been able to, like, enjoy our time as a family of five, like, without the chaos of the show,” Rachel added.
Andy Cohen addresses RHONJ season 15 casting rumors
She continued, “So I really feel like this time we’ve had off has been like so calm, and like, we’re just enjoying it, and we haven’t really been worried about that kind of stuff.”
Jennifer Pedranti’s ex-husband, William Pedranti, accuses the Real Housewives of Orange County star of telling reputation ruining lies about him on the hit Bravo show.
William Pedranti is pleading with the court to cut off his ex-wife Jennifer Pedranti‘s spousal support. According to court documents obtained byIn Touch, the 52-year-old requested that the $1,735 per month he pays his ex in spousal support be terminated.
He also asked the court to lower the $4,674 per month he pays in child support.
Jennifer Pedranti and William were married from 2002 until 2021. William filed for divorce in March 2023 only weeks before Jennifer’s debut on season 17 of RHOC The exes settled their divorce in June.
The two agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of their four minor children: Dawson, Greyson, Everleigh, and Dominic. They also agreed that the children would continue living with their mother.
In his new filing, William claims he made $5,546 in wages and another $12,740 in self-employment income last month. On top of being an attorney, William is also the CEO of a company called Visgenx.
According to William, Jennifer Pedranti brings in around $8000 per month from Bravo and various other sources of income. He claims his average monthly expenses total $14,320.
He claims to have had a “significant reduction in” salary due to his “employer needing to conserve capital resources.”
In his motion, William also said that their son Dawson has been living solely with him since March and as a result he covers all his expenses including car payment, auto insurance, health insurance, cell phone, gas, food and all other needs.
William notes that his original divorce settlement with Jennifer Pedranti requires him to $587 per month in support for Dawson. He adds that his income drastically decreased since the original order and wants the $4,674 per month in child support he currently pays be reduced by $587.
On top of that, William noted that Jennifer got engaged to her longtime boyfriend Ryan Boyajian in April. He also pointed out that she moved in with Ryan after facing housing issues last year.
He said, “She moved in with Ryan because she did not pay rent on her lease [at a home in Ladera Ranch, California]. I am not party to the lease agreement. Jennifer signed the lease agreement without first notifying me. If she had notified me beforehand, I would not have agreed to the terms of the lease (particularly the amount). We agreed to an uneven split of the amount of the rent since the children would be living there. Jennifer was not able to contribute anything toward the rent, and therefore, the rent was not able to be paid.”
Per William Jennifer doesn’t pay many expenses at Ryan’s house and believes the court was unaware of her living situation when they granted her $1,735 a month in spousal support.
The 52-year-old also accused his ex of consistently harassing him to meet in person despite repeated requests “asking her to stop.”
“This is harassment and an invasion of my privacy,” William said of one instance where Jennifer showed up at his home on August 29.
In addition, William claims Jennifer Pedranti violated a provision of their divorce where they agreed not to disparage each other publicly According to William, Jennifer “made multiple disparaging comment and lies about me on the Bravo TV show as well as in national media interviews. Including negative comments about my relationship with my kids. My reputation has been adversely affected by this. I have also had to have conversations with the children about it as well.”
He also said Jennifer spoke publicly about his financial status which caused “damage to his reputation.”
Meanwhile, Jennifer Pedranti recently demanded William appear in court for an examination of his finances. Their legal battle is ongoing.
“That’s correct, Jeff Neary,”Jim Bellino said. “Jeff’s an amazing lawyer. He’s an expert on slander and defamation.”
Jim, who was previously married to RHOC’s Alexis Bellino, successfully sued Tamra Judge for slander in 2018. The lawsuit reportedly cost Tamra $500,000 to fight. The details of the settlement remain confidential.
The podcast host speculated that Ryan won’t sue Tamra as long as she stops talking about him publicly.
“Listen, I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this,” Jim commented. “Nobody wants to sue anybody. I can promise you it’s very emotionally draining. It’s like a divorce. And what surprises me, knowing how much money and emotion Tamra went through, why she would put herself in this position saying statements [as if] fact, like he was raided by the FBI and that he stole money from a baseball player.”
“Those are actionable offenses,” he continued. “So the fact that Ryan is only requiring an apology, that says something about his character. I think that he realizes — and I’ve actually spoke with Ryan about this — that if you can get the apology, don’t go through with the lawsuit, just because it’s draining.”
When asked how Ryan is doing amid all the drama, Jim said, “He’s great. He’s just a very even guy. Very chill. I think he handles himself very well in these situations, but he’s not gonna take any s–t. So, it’s on right now.”
Ryan shared gave Jim’s comments his seal of approval on Instagram.