NeNe Leakes Visited Late Gregg's Mausoleum To Celebrate His Posthumous 68th Birthday

NeNe Leakes is paying tribute to her late husband Gregg Leakes on his birthday, nearly two years after his death.

Gregg died from colon cancer on September 1, 2021, at 66, after struggling with the condition intermittently for years since his diagnosis in 2018. In honor of the deceased reality star's special day, NeNe visited his resting place and shared a touching message recalling how he spent his birthday when he was alive.

The 55-year-old widow memorialized her late partner with a beautiful Instagram post featuring two throwback pictures and a heartfelt message. One of the uploaded snaps showed Gregg sitting at a table at an event, while in the next, NeNe was captured leaning down to kiss him. 

Celebrating her husband's posthumous birthday, she wrote in the caption, "Happy Heavenly Birthday, Gregg! Today you would be out eating your favorite foods! French Fries and chicken tenders 😂 –I love you for that."

The "DWTS" alum added, "It was the simple things about you that got me every time! I love you and miss you more than words can say! –My Man My Man My Mannnn❤️." Fans were taken with the candid update as they reacted in the comments section with well wishes for Gregg, who was indeed loved by many.

"🗣️ "HONK THE HORN ON EM GREG!!!" ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉🎉," one user declared. A second added, "Love you, Dad Gregg ❤️❤️❤️." Another followed, "The coldest OG and the Originator of how to be a Real Housewives Husband and handle it with dignity, humility, and strength! Cheers to our favorite Housewives Husband, the🐐 ! 💪🏾✊🏾 we love and miss you! Happy Bday!"

A fourth fan proclaimed, "Number one house husband!!!!!! BLOOOOOP! TOOT TOOT!!!!! 😂🥳" while a fellow commenter penned, "The best husband from all the housewives franchise! Greg was [old] school and no-nonsense but a gentleman!! ❤️❤️.”

"We Stan Gregg Leakes!" a sixth follower exclaimed, "Happy Heavenly Birthday to My Favorite House Husband," and a seventh comment read, "Man, Gregg was definitely a real one! Even though I only knew him for a short amount of time. "I value the knowledge and wisdom he gave when we did speak. He will be missed but never forgotten. 🙏🏾's up to you, NeNe, and the rest of your family…"

After tributing Gregg on her feed, NeNe took to her Story to reveal how she spent the deceased's birthday by visiting his mausoleum. She dropped two pictures, with the first showing her touching Gregg's tombstone, while in the second, she captured the crypt, highlighting the words on it.

"Forever in our hearts" was inscribed on a black plate with gold rims, alongside the deceased's full name, "Gregory Leon Leakes," and his time on earth, "August 16, 1954 - September 1, 2021."

NeNe has been taking baby steps in moving on from the loss of her husband, and she once opened up about it in an interview last year, touching on coming to terms with his passing. At the time, she was seeing someone but attributed most of her happiness to her mind.

"I can not say he has not helped me put a smile on my face… You have to be willing to be happy, and you have to make a lot of changes within yourself."

In 2021, the Broadway star also revealed on Instagram that while grieving, she had both good and bad days, but she had the most supportive people who helped ease her mind. "I am pushing through," she added. "I have good days and bad days. They said it’s normal. So, some days I’m up. Some days I’m down. Today I felt like going to the salon. So that was good."

She continued, "I have a whole group of people that are coming to my house every day doing different stuff with me, trying to keep my mind off of … you know, [the] events that recently happened."

In December 2021, months after Gregg's passing, NeNe officially confirmed her then-new relationship, revealing that she was dating menswear designer, Nyonisela Sioh. "We're dating! We're friends," she revealed, prompting fans to wonder if it was too soon for her to move on from Gregg.

However, the "RHOA" star assured them that her late spouse gave her his blessings to do so as he wanted her to "be happy" and "keep smiling."

Unfortunately, NeNe and Sioh's romance recently came to an end, as confirmed in part one of her "Reality with the King" podcast interview last month.

"Today, we are taking a break. We've been taking a break," the reputable fashion designer shared, explaining why they split: "It's… things I'm not happy with, things he's not happy with. It's just not working at the moment."